Seminar "Hostage taking / kidnapping / extortion" 2018
From 19 to 23 November 2018, the National Liaison Office of CEPA Switzerland held a specialist seminar on "Hostage-taking / Abduction / Extortion" in Bern. 20 participants from six CEPA member states followed the prepared programme of the Federal Office of Police fedpol.
Speakers from international police cooperation, the Swiss cantonal and city police, a state criminal officer from North Rhine-Westphalia and a liaison officer from the German Federal Criminal Police Office provided information on hostage-taking, kidnapping and extortion. The high level of expertise of the lecturers was praised.
The participants were able to actively participate by means of current case studies. In mixed groups, they analyzed, discussed and dealt with the cases. The results were then presented to the plenum.
The participants appreciated the collegiality between the different nations as well as the division between theory and practice (exercises), especially the "Case Study and Table Top Exercises".
A guided tour through the Swiss air rescue service Rega rounded off the supporting programme. Afterwards, a walk next to the cathedral led to the old town. After a cozy fondue chat the light spectacle "The Little Prince" was visited at the "Bundeshaus". All in all, the participants praised the humanity, hospitality, expert knowledge and the get-together, which ultimately led to a successful specialist seminar.
CEPA journal 2/2018
The CEPA journal 2/2018 was published on the topic "Use of social networks and OSINT (Open Source Intelligence) in investigative work".
Printed copies are sent by the National Liaison Offices or the CEPA Central Coordination Office to police stations or police officers on request.
The closing ceremony of the 24th MEPA Special Course took place in Budapest.
On 12 October 2018, the closing ceremony of the 24th CEPA Special Course "Cross-border Cooperation in Compensation Measures and Border Police Tasks" (for "Border Police Officers") was held in Budapest at the Centre for International Education and Training in the presence of several high-ranking guests.
Between 17 September and 12 October 2018, 16 police officers from seven CEPA member countries were given the opportunity to take part in this special four-week course at the four training locations Kreuzlingen (CH), Ljubljana (SLO), Michalovce (SK) and Budapest (H).
The course weeks focused on the latest strategies in the area of compensatory measures and the securing of the EU's external borders. Of course, the current and actual topic in the CEPA member states "mass migration" and "refugee flows to Europe" was dealt with and discussed very intensively in the 24th MEPA Special Course.
The results of the workshop exercises on three different topics in connection with "border police" were also based on the current migration issue, which was elaborated in writing by the participating police officers and presented to an international body on 12 October 2018.
The deputy director of the Federal Customs Administration of Switzerland, Dr. Martin Weißleder, mentioned the importance of cross-border cooperation and the necessary cooperation in the joint accomplishment of tasks. The EU must meet the changes in Europe with a well-trained and visionary police force. In his speech, the course spokesman for the 24th Course of MEPA Special Courses from Austria emphasized the uniqueness of the CEPA training event and thanked all those responsible at CEPA for conducting this course.
Job shadowing of two Hungarian police officers in Stuttgart
In the period from 1-5 October 2018, two Hungarian police officers with a leading function hospitated at the Prevention Department of the Stuttgart Police Headquarters. The two police officers with prevention tasks were given insights into the local and national spectrum of activities and into the organisational structure of crime and traffic prevention. During their stay, they also had the opportunity to attend the prevention and lecture events on site and to obtain information on local crime prevention. In addition, the two colleagues were informed at the State Prevention Office in the State Criminal Police Office of Baden-Württemberg and spent a day at the Prevention Department of the Ludwigsburg Police Headquarters. The time spent together was used to exchange information on current topics and challenges in prevention work.
Job shadowing of a Hungarian police officer at the Austrian Federal Criminal Police Office
In the period from 24 to 28 September, a police officer from Hungary visited the Austrian Federal Criminal Police Office in the Office for Covert Investigation. In addition to an introduction to the organisation of the Federal Criminal Police Office, the guest student was shown theoretical and practical units on covert criminal investigation methods.
During visits to the offices of the Office for Covert Investigations, the trainee was able to gain insights into their structure and activities.
All investigation methods were compared with the legal possibilities in Hungary, so that a valuable professional exchange of experience took place.
Follow-up seminar for CEPA main course graduates of 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2013
In Hungary, at the Centre for International Continuing Education, the follow-up seminar for CEPA main course graduates of 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2013 took place between 18-21 September 2018.
The seminar was attended by colleagues from Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland and Hungary. All 26 participants had the opportunity to meet again in Budapest.
The event was opened by the Hungarian member of the CEPA Board of Trustees, Brigadier General Dr. István FARKAS, Director of the Centre for International Training.
The aims of the seminar were to exchange the latest information on investigation methods and international criminal police cooperation, to refresh the foreign language skills of the non-German-speaking participants and to establish and maintain contacts among the seminar participants.
During our week together there was a very good seminar atmosphere. The lectures of the speakers - most of them were participants of the seminar, i.e. course graduates from different years - discussed the challenges of fighting crime, international criminal police cooperation and the related tasks.
It was particularly interesting to learn how the Zurich City Police and the Hungarian National Investigation Office successfully cooperated in 2017 and 2018 on a joint criminal case against drug-related crime with the help of MEPA contacts.
The participants rated the seminar in their report as excellent and super organized. The participants thanked each other for the opportunity to spend 4 days together. They think that the CEPA main course, as well as other CEPA events, and the network of course graduates are a particularly good and efficient form of international criminal police cooperation.
Counter-terrorism - a topic for border police?
From 03 to 06 September 2018, the CEPA specialist seminar on "Counter-terrorism - a topic for border police?" took place under the direction of the Federal Police Academy Lübeck. The event was held at the German Police University in Münster. The organizers welcomed participants from all seven CEPA member countries to this event. In practice-oriented lectures, experts and participants examined the topic of counter-terrorism and the resulting effects on the work of border police. Equally important to the participants was the exchange of information with colleagues from the other CEPA member countries and the establishment or expansion of a network - initiatives which became almost a matter of course due to the friendly and pleasant seminar atmosphere. A small cultural programme in the form of a short city tour through Münster and a visit to the "Friedenssaal" in the town hall of the city as a site of the" Peace of Westphalia" rounded off a successful event.
Opening of the 24th CEPA Special Course 2018 in Kreuzlingen
On 17 September 2018, the 24th CEPA Special Course on "Cross-border cooperation in compensatory measures and border police tasks" was opened in Kreuzlingen/Switzerland. The responsible course instructor Mr. Thomas Zehnder, Commander of the Border Guard Corps Region II, welcomed the course participants to the first course week and wished them every success.
The representative of the Central Coordination Office of MEPA in Austria, Colonel Andreas Wolf, welcomed the participants and thanked the organisers of the Border Guard Corps. The necessity of this training, which is unique in Europe in this way and on this subject, was mentioned.
The 16 participants from the CEPA States will be presented in 4 weeks at the locations Kreuzlingen, Ljubljana, Michalovce and Budapest the cultures of the countries and the working methods of the police units in the individual CEPA States in the field of border surveillance. Speakers from Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria, together with national speakers from the course locations, will give lectures on border police tasks.
The course graduates will also get to know operational procedures in the individual CEPA States in the course of excursions and practical exercises.
To the topics
◦Is The Schengen Agreement still up to date or does Dublin IV provide the solution?
◦Border Police 2025 - What should the border police look like after the experiences with the migration situation in Europe in 2015?
◦How does the `successful` illegal migrant in Europe behave?
several workshops will be attended. At the end of the course on 12 October 2018 in Budapest, the participants will present the results of their workshop work to a panel of experts.
A chief investigator from Slovenia visited the Villach City Police Command/AUT
In the period from 03 to 09 September, the Villach City Police Command made a work shadowing possible for a chief investigator from Slovenia. In addition to an introduction to the organisation of the criminal investigation department, the guest student was shown theoretical and practical units on investigative, investigative and other criminal police activities. During office visits (Police stations in Auen and Velden/Wörthersee) the trainee was able to gain insights into the structure and activities of such. All activities were discussed in detail in the respective team and compared with the legal possibilities in Slovenia, so that a professionally valuable exchange of experience took place.
Course instructor conference for the CEPA main course in 2019
From 04 to 06 September 2018 the course instructor conference for the 27th CEPA main course in 2019 took place in Bratislava/Slovakia.
The course leaders from the seven CEPA countries planned the course and the contents for this practice-oriented advanced training on the central topic "Prevention and Combating of Internationally Relevant Crime".
The course locations will be Prague, Eltville, Biel, Ljubljana, Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest. The course starts on 25 February in Prague and ends on 12.04.2019 in Budapest.
In 2019, experts from the CEPA countries will present the latest trends and methods in the fight against organised crime to course participants. The focus will be on international and cross-border cooperation and the development of common strategies to combat organised crime. The topics will include classic OC offences. The participants will also be presented with modern and latest OC control methods.
As in previous years, the participants will attend a workshop as part of their further training. At the end of the course the results will be presented to a panel of experts.