Periodic Reporting for period 1 - VANGUARD (adVANced technoloGical solutions coupled with societal-oriented Understanding and AwaReness for Disrupting trafficking in human beings)
Période du rapport: 2023-11-01 au 2025-04-30
Trafficking in Human Beings (THB) has been at the forefront of the priorities of relevant stakeholders (i.e. Police, Border Guard, and Judicial Authorities, Non-Governmental Organisations, Victim Support Services, policy makers, etc.), as it poses significant threats on human rights, security, and social cohesion. As a transnational and multidimensional form of serious organised crime, it requires coordinated prevention and detection efforts.
VANGUARD aims to strengthen the fight against THB by: (a) Providing an improved and comprehensive intelligence picture of the trafficking chain, focusing on sexual exploitation, labour exploitation, and forced criminality; (b) Developing a modular and trustworthy AI-based ToolSuite for detecting, identifying, investigating, and preventing online-facilitated THB and THB-related activities at (border) checkpoints; (c) Improving security practitioners’ capacity through advanced tools and innovative training curricula; (d) Delivering policy recommendations from the knowledge obtained through the intelligence picture, the evaluation of the developed tools, and co-creation with relevant actors; (e) Raising awareness on the THB societal dimensions through improved strategies of multilevel, international cooperation among relevant actors; and (f) Exploring the broader use, sustainability, and business feasibility of the project’s results, as well as collaborating with relevant initiatives to enable further uptake.
VANGUARD aims to strengthen the fight against THB by: (a) Providing an improved and comprehensive intelligence picture of the trafficking chain, focusing on sexual exploitation, labour exploitation, and forced criminality; (b) Developing a modular and trustworthy AI-based ToolSuite for detecting, identifying, investigating, and preventing online-facilitated THB and THB-related activities at (border) checkpoints; (c) Improving security practitioners’ capacity through advanced tools and innovative training curricula; (d) Delivering policy recommendations from the knowledge obtained through the intelligence picture, the evaluation of the developed tools, and co-creation with relevant actors; (e) Raising awareness on the THB societal dimensions through improved strategies of multilevel, international cooperation among relevant actors; and (f) Exploring the broader use, sustainability, and business feasibility of the project’s results, as well as collaborating with relevant initiatives to enable further uptake.
The project’s multidisciplinary consortium conducts rigorous criminological, social, societal and legal analysis on all stages of the THB chain, with its technological solutions being validated in field tests via three pilot use cases. During its first 18 months, significant progress has been made on all technical and scientific aspects:
O1. Provide an improved and comprehensive intelligence picture of (cross-border) THB-related criminal activities and establish an enriched common understanding of the trafficking chain: Over 280 THB sources were gathered, with a particular focus on sex trafficking, labour trafficking, and forced criminality, to unveil the prevalence and modus operandi of THB across different stages, with connections to other criminal activities. Moreover, 19 case studies from closed cases by end-user partners provided concrete insights into how THB networks operate, and 67 semi-structured interviews with THB experts, victims, and perpetrators, helped identify vulnerabilities and protective factors of people involved in THB, recent trends, barriers, and preventive actions. Over 50 good practices on including survivors in both anti-THB preventive measures and policy making were identified and narrowed down to 35, aimed to be rated against a strict set of criteria, thus enabling replication and even upscaling.
O2. Develop improved and trustworthy AI-based innovative tools and solutions for detecting, identifying, investigating, preventing, and overall disrupting online-facilitated THB activities: To this end, the initial version of a suite of tools for online content acquisition, multilingual text analysis, tattoos/birthmarks detection, indoor/outdoor geolocation, and audio analysis has been developed.
O3: Develop improved and trustworthy AI-based innovative tools and solutions for detecting, identifying, investigating, preventing, and overall disrupting THB activities at (border) checkpoints: To this end, a suite of tools is under development, including tools to detect and identify potential THB criminal activities based on non-verbal cues, tools for human detection, re-identification, recognition, and for remote sensing and scanning.
O4. Provide enhanced decision support and investigation methodologies and processes derived from the capabilities offered by a trustworthy, transparent, modular, and easy-to-use suite of tools and the insights obtained through the captured intelligence picture: A modular ToolSuite has been developed integrating the aforementioned tools, as well as tools for pattern recognition and correlation, risk assessment, and predictive analytics. It also includes Explainable AI methods to ensure fairness and ethical integrity, as well as a secure data management system for handling diverse data in a secure and efficient manner. User-friendly visualisations and dashboards have been developed in alignment with end-user needs.
O5. Enable continuous evaluation and improvement of overall capacity building of security practitioners (Police and Border Guards Authorities) and their training over the developed tools and solutions to enhance uptake of new technologies for existing and emerging capability gaps: Three Pilot Use Cases were defined, with detailed planning and training methodology, to support pilot tests during the second half of the project. A virtual reality (VR) training game for Police and Border Guards Authorities is also being designed for development during the second half of the project.
O6. Promote cooperation through improved knowledge sharing and communication, raise awareness through campaigns and initiatives, and deliver enhanced regulation shaping through policy recommendations on the basis of the obtained insights and knowledge: To promote cooperation, a knowledge sharing and collaboration platform is under development, aiming also to raise awareness about THB. A methodology has already been established with its full development being planned for the second half of the project. To raise awareness on THB for sexual exploitation, a web-based serious game is also being developed, primarily targeting youth and frontline professionals.
O1. Provide an improved and comprehensive intelligence picture of (cross-border) THB-related criminal activities and establish an enriched common understanding of the trafficking chain: Over 280 THB sources were gathered, with a particular focus on sex trafficking, labour trafficking, and forced criminality, to unveil the prevalence and modus operandi of THB across different stages, with connections to other criminal activities. Moreover, 19 case studies from closed cases by end-user partners provided concrete insights into how THB networks operate, and 67 semi-structured interviews with THB experts, victims, and perpetrators, helped identify vulnerabilities and protective factors of people involved in THB, recent trends, barriers, and preventive actions. Over 50 good practices on including survivors in both anti-THB preventive measures and policy making were identified and narrowed down to 35, aimed to be rated against a strict set of criteria, thus enabling replication and even upscaling.
O2. Develop improved and trustworthy AI-based innovative tools and solutions for detecting, identifying, investigating, preventing, and overall disrupting online-facilitated THB activities: To this end, the initial version of a suite of tools for online content acquisition, multilingual text analysis, tattoos/birthmarks detection, indoor/outdoor geolocation, and audio analysis has been developed.
O3: Develop improved and trustworthy AI-based innovative tools and solutions for detecting, identifying, investigating, preventing, and overall disrupting THB activities at (border) checkpoints: To this end, a suite of tools is under development, including tools to detect and identify potential THB criminal activities based on non-verbal cues, tools for human detection, re-identification, recognition, and for remote sensing and scanning.
O4. Provide enhanced decision support and investigation methodologies and processes derived from the capabilities offered by a trustworthy, transparent, modular, and easy-to-use suite of tools and the insights obtained through the captured intelligence picture: A modular ToolSuite has been developed integrating the aforementioned tools, as well as tools for pattern recognition and correlation, risk assessment, and predictive analytics. It also includes Explainable AI methods to ensure fairness and ethical integrity, as well as a secure data management system for handling diverse data in a secure and efficient manner. User-friendly visualisations and dashboards have been developed in alignment with end-user needs.
O5. Enable continuous evaluation and improvement of overall capacity building of security practitioners (Police and Border Guards Authorities) and their training over the developed tools and solutions to enhance uptake of new technologies for existing and emerging capability gaps: Three Pilot Use Cases were defined, with detailed planning and training methodology, to support pilot tests during the second half of the project. A virtual reality (VR) training game for Police and Border Guards Authorities is also being designed for development during the second half of the project.
O6. Promote cooperation through improved knowledge sharing and communication, raise awareness through campaigns and initiatives, and deliver enhanced regulation shaping through policy recommendations on the basis of the obtained insights and knowledge: To promote cooperation, a knowledge sharing and collaboration platform is under development, aiming also to raise awareness about THB. A methodology has already been established with its full development being planned for the second half of the project. To raise awareness on THB for sexual exploitation, a web-based serious game is also being developed, primarily targeting youth and frontline professionals.
VANGUARD aims to advance beyond the state of the art in several scientific and technological fields. Key achievements include an improved intelligence picture of (cross-border) THB-related activities through comprehensive desk and empirical research, and the development of tools for detecting, identifying, investigating and preventing online and offline-facilitated THB. Initial versions of tools for enhanced investigations through pattern recognition, risk assessment, and predictive analytics were also developed, along with Explainable AI methods to ensure reliability, fairness and ethical integrity. Initial designs were also developed for training curricula, a VR game for Police and Border Guard Authorities, a knowledge sharing and collaboration platform, and a serious web-based game for raising awareness among youth and frontline professionals.