ABSTRACT
The 1997 Amsterdam Treaty introduced ‘joint teams’ as a concept for cooperation in criminal investigations between police of the European Union (EU) Member States. The concept of the ‘joint investigation team’ (JIT) was anticipated to be a promising strategy, as it envisaged officers from different jurisdictions and law enforcement organisations jointly to investigate organised crime by working together in one team, efficiently sharing information and evidence alike. The establishment of JITs was considered necessary as many criminal investigations span over more than two countries and therefore the traditional method of bilateral legal assistance was simply outdated (Commission 2001, Personal Communication 2007b). Joint teams that could include police from more than two Member States were believed to be the perfect solution for the perceived inadequacy of existing police cooperation between the Member States. But more than a decade later the strategy does not seem to have found much popularity with police and less than 40 JITs have so far been operational. This number represents an almost negligible percentage of all cross-border criminal investigations in the EU. 1
