As long as crime and organized crime
remained domestic issues, the history of
international law enforcement and
judicial cooperation proceeded at a
leisurely pace. Many years passed from
when private policemen and private
security companies were first used to
collect evidence and apprehend offenders
abroad, to when the first formal
arrangements were made for law
enforcement cooperation. Initiatives for
formal judicial co-operation arrangements
emerged even more slowly. The first
modern multilateral treaties on
cooperation in criminal matters did not
appear until less than fifty years ago