The first pilot of the VANGUARD EU project took place on June 3, 2025, at the premises of the Portuguese Criminal Investigation Police(PJ). The pilot focused on “𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲-𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗧𝗛𝗕 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀” – showcasing how cutting-edge technology can enhance intelligence and enable early victim and perpetrator identification.
More than 10 end users from Police and Border Guard Authorities participated in the pilot demonstration and were asked to evaluate the 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗨𝗔𝗥𝗗 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗦𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗲, featuring:
- Acquisition of relevant online content acquisition
- Text analysis for recognition of entities of interest
- Multimedia content analysis (tattoos, birthmarks)
- Geo-location analysis
- Risk assessment tools
- Predictive analytics capabilities
The pilot concluded with positive feedback stemming from the participants, as they had been presented with solutions directly responding 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹-𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗹𝗮𝘄 𝗲𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 in fighting trafficking in human beings, especially at the recruitment and exploitation stages.