Page 7 - Police World Edition 1 2014

Article
Magnifico
Opportunity
Mandy Kernohan, from Region 2 Northern Ireland, represented
Section UK at Section Italy’s international police week.
Mandy describes the highlights below.
Every two years Section Italy hosts
an international police week which
is held in the Jesolo area, twenty
miles east of Venice. The week captures in
essence the cornerstones of the IPA - in that
different police cultures come together for
both professional and social activities. I was
very grateful to be allowed to represent both
Section UK and my own service, the PSNI,
during the week.
On arrival at the airport I quickly spotted
an IPA logo. When I approached it I met its
owner, Fabrizzio, who could speak about the
same amount of English as I Italian - so we
communicated by way of iPad translation
whilst waiting for other colleagues to arrive.
Over the following six evenings I met many
more colleagues representing twenty countries
including USA, Poland, Canada, Holland,
Finland and Belgium.
The week had several professional inputs on
topics such as fraud - in relation to driving
documents across Europe and the judicial
system in Italy - in relation to tourists and
details of common crimes both committed on
tourists and by visitors to the region.
I appeared the first morning in my uniform and
had to explain twenty times that even though
my uniform was green and I was from Ireland I
was a member of Section UK.
We were based in Jesolo - a holiday town with
a nine mile beach, hotels and tourist shops
and restaurants. The town was full of tourists
from all over Europe and each night I had the
privilege of going on patrol along the main
street and piazzas accompanied by the Italian
police mounted section. I particularly enjoyed
meeting tourists and watching the surprise
on the faces of holiday makers from Northern
Ireland as they met me.
One memory that will stay with me is when I
spent a morning on traffic patrol in the front
passenger seat of a Lamborghini and admit I
closed my eyes as we travelled at speed along
the motorway.
On the penultimate day we went into Venice
and had an opportunity to patrol in a police
launch along the Grand Canal (no gondolas
were speeding) and also enjoyed a seven
course lunch near St Mark’s Square.
On the social side I had the opportunity to
go to the beach. I also was witness at the
proposal of marriage by one of my USA
colleagues. On the last evening I attended a
social event which included the Italian police
orchestra, a 14 course meal in the presence
of the local MP, Mayor and the International
President Pierre-Martin Moulin - who called in
to visit.
It was a wonderful IPA experience and I
would encourage others to take up similar
opportunities in the future.
Mandy Kernohan,
Northern Ireland
7
Mandy opened her eyes once
she was out of the car!
Proud to be in uniform with fellow officers
Mandy with the Italian police mounted section