Page 4 - police world Edition 1 2013

Police World Vol 58 No.1 2013 4
An Update from the NEC
At the XX IPA World Congress, elections took place for all
positions on the Permanent Executive Bureau (PEB), resulting in
changes at the very top and positions for Section UK members.
Working on
your behalf
P ierre Moulin (Switzerland) takes the
reins as International President,
taking over from Michael Odysseos
(Cyprus) who was elected in 1994. Section
UK's former Vice President Stephen
Crockard, secured his place as Assistant
International Secretary General (AISG) for a
further three year term. Also, Steve Connor
(UK Immediate Past President) was once
again selected to serve on a Commission.
Current UK Vice President Mark Kernohan is
Liaison Officer to the ISC Chair on matters
relating to the World Police and Fire Games
(see page 12).
Stephen Crockard and Steve Connor give
Police World readers an insight into how
the PEB and commissions operate and
work on behalf of members.
The International Executive Committee (IEC)
is the supreme body of the Association and is
composed of one delegate from each Section
and of the PEB. It meets every three years at
an IPA World Congress and between
Congresses - once a year at an IEC
Conference. Each Section and the PEB have
one vote in the IEC.
PEB members may be re-elected. The
meeting last September saw a change to the
rules surrounding elections. Section Hungary
received support for its proposal that no one
should be nominated or elected for any
international position without the nomination
and support of their own national Section. All
posts are carried out on a voluntary basis.
The PEB is responsible for the management
of the Association and for the implementation
of decisions taken by the IEC. It has the
power to act on behalf of the IEC in any
matter requiring immediate action. The
International President and an additional
member of the PEB represent the Association
in and out of court.
The PEB maintains an International
Administration Centre (IAC) in Arthur Troop
House, West Bridgford, co-located with the
BSAC. This is under the control of the ISG and
AISG and delivers the administrative
functions of the international level of the
Association.
In furtherance of the aims of the Association
there are five standing commissions which
support the work of the PEB.
Candidates to be commission members are
recommended by their national sections and
appointed by the PEB for three year terms.
I was a Vice President of Section UK,
between 1999 and 2009 and a member of
the International Professional Commission
between 2003 and 2009. During this time, I
administered the Arthur Troop Scholarship. I
was elected to the PEB in 2009, as AISG and
chair of the IPC. I retained this position at the
elections in Israel in 2012, moving to chair of
the International Cultural Commission (ICC).
I am regular visitor to the IAC in Nottingham,
with a budget for 6 visits a year, of several
days duration. I am also in daily contact with
the office by telephone, internet, or Skype. I
deal with a large amount of the PEB, IAC and
ICC work at home, via email.
The secretariat is the most consistently busy
part of the PEB and the staff members do
sterling work for members as well as the
heavy tasks imposed by the PEB members.
Georgios, the International Secretary
General, and I are different from other PEB
members, in that we do our secretariat work
as well as running international
commissions. The international vice
presidents each have a commission, and the
International Treasurer (IT) and Assistant
International Treasurer (AIT) deal purely with
the finances.
I was delighted in the confidence expressed
by the Congress delegates to elect me for a
second term. I believe that, as the
Association has English as its working
language, it is essential to have a native
English speaker in the secretariat, be they
from the UK, or another English speaking
country. I have built up good relations with
national office holders and I always try my
best to live up to the motto of the
Association, ‘Servo per amikeco’.
Stephen Crockard
I have been a member of the International
Commission for External Relations (ERC)
since 2006. During that time, under skilful
direction of former 1st International Vice
President Daniel Condaminas, the ERC has
gone from strength to strength. The ERC has
existed in its current guise since 2003 when
it was renamed from the old United Nations
Commission (UNC) to reinforce its expansion
ambitions. Using the UN title effectively
restricted it, when it had already grown to
encompass European Institutions (EI), and
since then the Organisation of American
States (OAS) has come on board.
Unlike other commissions, the ERC is
composed of a chair, currently Werner Busch
(2nd IVP) and a Secretary (me) who manage
the increasingly complex administration; the
IPA has special consultative status with all
the above organs as well as UNESCO, an aim
that goes right back to the heart of our
association and something the Founder,
Arthur Troop BEM, strived hard to achieve.
With such status and the demands on our
representatives, the IPA must produce
reports covering all its activities: cultural,
social and professional at certain key
periods. Coordination of all this ensures
everything proceeds on track and the ERC
remains fundamental to the IPA globally.
This year the World Congress passed a
motion designed to ensure that continuity for
our commission representatives was
guaranteed. Statutory requirements with
regards our status require a representative at
all times, so it has been a source of tension
in the past when effectively our
representatives were 'stood down', but were
in fact still carrying out core functions. It has
taken many years for these volunteers based
in relevant cities to make inroads to their
particular organisation and it simply wouldn't
work if the liaison wasn't there. These
hardworking friends enhance the reputation
of the IPA and promote us as police officers
who are serious about Human Rights.
Steve Connor