Training for undercover agents in digital environments in Bolivia

Bolivia has passed a law aimed at protecting the sexual integrity of children and adolescents in digital environments. And, for the first time in Bolivia, this regulation authorises the use of undercover agents in digital environments (virtual undercover agents) to investigate crimes that violate the sexual integrity of persons under the age of 18 on the Internet. Its implementation will be the responsibility of the Bolivian police forces and will require judicial authorisation.

The training has been organised by the European project on the fight against organised crime in Bolivia in coordination with the Bolivian Police’s Special Force for the Fight Against Crime (FELCC), and two specialists from the Central Operational Unit (UCO) of the Spanish Civil Guard have been brought in to deliver it.

In close collaboration with the National Department for Trafficking and Smuggling of Persons of the FELCC, the project promotes the creation of a specialised unit of digital undercover agents, as well as coordination between investigators of human trafficking crimes, the Cybercrime Division and the Department of Criminal Analysis and Intelligence.

The training has a highly practical focus, aimed at developing operational skills to conduct effective and safe investigations. Topics covered include the national and international regulatory framework for virtual undercover agents, ethics in undercover investigations, the tools used for these investigations, and psychology and human behaviour in digital environments, among others.

This training is the first of several planned actions to promote the creation and consolidation of an entity specialising in intelligence and investigation of crimes related to human trafficking, migrant smuggling and related offences, with a particular focus on prosecuting criminal organisations involved in these activities.