POLICE_WORLD_4

C.O.P.S

Defensive Tactics

seminar 2016

Martin Cooper

, IPA-DTG chairman

In June, 2016, the IPA special interest group, the Defensive Tactics Group hosted the 20th anniversary of the

COPS international seminar. It was organised by the Prison Service in Rawicz and was held at the Recreation

Centre in Golina, Poland. The COPS seminar is a place where similar minded officers from all over the world

share friendship and best practice on the subject of Officer Safety and the first seminar was held in Puck,

Poland in 1996.

he seminar was attended by

around

50 participants, from Law Enforcement,

Prisons and security operatives

Teaching at the seminar were IPA members, Slavo

Gozdzik (Swedish police force), Rob Stenhouse

and Keith Sinclair (North Wales Police) and

Martin Cooper (retired Lancashire Constabulary).

Over the three days the attendees were taught

various modules within the sphere of Officer

Safety and included self-defence, ground

defence, control & restraint, spontaneous edged

weapon survival tactics and use of the baton and

short stick.

COPS attracts officers from all over Europe,

but 2016 was the first time a large contingent

of officers from Belgium had attended. They

thoroughly enjoyed the seminar and one officer

stated that he had learnt more in the three days,

than fifteen years of practicing martial arts.

Talks are already underway to take the COPS

international seminar to Brussels in 2018.

Tired and bruised after hours of hard work,

everyone attended a presentation on the

Saturday evening, where attendance certificates

were handed out. This was followed by a

barbeque, in typical Polish fashion, where

everyone sat round the fire pit, eating wild boar

and toasting the success of the seminar.

Anyone considering attending a future COPS

international can obtain details via our website:

or go to our facebook page:

IPA-DTG

POLICE WORLD

Vol 61 No. 4, 2016

Professional Development