HELLENIC POLICE

Their core work

The Hellenic Police is Greece's national law enforcement agency, serving as an end-user and operational requirements partner in EU-funded security research. They bring real-world policing experience to projects spanning border surveillance, counter-terrorism, cybercrime investigation, and digital forensics. Their contribution lies in validating and piloting new technologies — from AI-driven crime analytics to VR-based training systems — ensuring research outputs meet the practical needs of frontline officers and investigators.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In 2018–2019, the Hellenic Police focused on border management, migration challenges, and practitioner networking (MEDEA, TRESSPASS, PERCEPTIONS), reflecting Greece's frontline role in the Mediterranean migration crisis. By 2020–2021, their portfolio shifted markedly toward AI-driven policing tools, VR/AR-based training, cybersecurity, and system interoperability (CISE/EUROSUR standards), signaling a move from reactive security concerns to proactive digital transformation of law enforcement capabilities. Their coordination of NESTOR in 2021 — their only coordinator role — represents a culmination of accumulated border surveillance expertise combined with newer technologies like social media analytics and unmanned vehicles.

Moving rapidly toward AI-assisted policing and immersive training technologies, making them an increasingly relevant end-user partner for any security project requiring operational validation of digital tools.

How they like to work

Almost exclusively a participant (28 of 29 projects), with just one coordinator role (NESTOR), which is typical for law enforcement end-users who provide operational expertise rather than driving research agendas. With 426 unique consortium partners across 47 countries, they operate as a well-connected hub in European security research — not locked into a small circle but open to diverse partnerships. Their consistent participation across large RIA and IA consortia makes them a reliable, experienced end-user partner who understands EU project mechanics.

An exceptionally broad network of 426 partners across 47 countries, making them one of the most connected law enforcement agencies in H2020 security research. Their partnerships span the full EU and associated countries, with no narrow geographic bias.

What sets them apart

As Greece's national police force, they bring direct operational experience from one of Europe's most active border and migration frontlines — a perspective few other LEAs can match. Their 29-project portfolio is unusually broad for a law enforcement body, covering everything from forensic trace analysis to AI ethics, which means they can serve as a credible end-user validator across virtually any security sub-domain. For consortium builders, they offer both political weight (national authority) and practical grounding (officers who will actually test the tools).

Highlights from their portfolio

• NESTOR
  Their only coordinator role (EUR 336K, largest single grant) — a flagship project on pre-frontier intelligence combining 360° surveillance, unmanned vehicles, social media monitoring, and AR/VR.
• BorderUAS
  Largest funding as participant (EUR 247K) focused on next-generation UAV/UAS border surveillance with advanced sensor fusion (LADAR, RADAR, SWIR, acoustic).
• AIDA
  Represents their push into AI-driven law enforcement — combining deep learning, big data analytics, dark web monitoring, and predictive crime analytics in a single platform.