The European Crime Prevention Network (EUCPN) was set up by the EU Council in 2001 and is funded by the EU Commission. Crime prevention expertise is collected by and disseminated within the Network. The thematic focus of the EUCPN reflects the priorities of both the EU Policy Cycle and the EUCPN presidency, which rotates along with that of the EU.

The EUCPN’s output includes toolboxes and research and policy papers. Once a year, the efforts of the EUCPN culminate in the Best Practice Conference and the European Crime Prevention Award (BPC-ECPA). This event convenes policymakers, practitioners, and academics, and offers them the opportunity to share knowledge and experiences. Through the BPC-ECPA, the EUCPN has become a forum where policy, practice, and research intersect.

The EUCPN also plays a key role in the development and promotion of crime prevention in the EU arena. The Network runs its own research programme in support of evidence-based crime prevention policy in the EU. It has supplemented its in-house research capacity with subcontracted research and internships. The focus is on EU priorities such as trafficking in human beings and organised property crime, but also on the concept of crime prevention itself. This concept will be foundational to future EU crime prevention. As a result, crime prevention has already become a horizontal goal in the EU Policy Cycle.