Page 16 - police world Edition 3 2013

Police World Vol 58 No.3 2013
When I received the news that I had
been selected to represent Section
UK at the Second World Seminar for
Young Police Officers I was excited, to say the
least. The 8 months waiting that followed flew by.
The next thing I knew I was preparing to embark
on my adventure down under.
I waved goodbye to Llanelli and after around 23
hours of flight time I arrived a little bleary eyed in
Brisbane.
Not wanting to let jet lag take hold, I made use of
my first few hours getting to know some of the
other participants, prior to the welcome BBQ in
the evening - which took us to the rooftop of the
Police Credit Union Building. This gathering gave
everyone the opportunity to get to know each
other in a relaxed informal setting.
Having been briefed and given our welcome
packs, I could see that this was going to be an
action packed week.
The following morning was a formal uniforms day,
which included the official opening and
photographs. Seeing a sea of police uniform from
a variety of police forces from all over the world
was certainly a sight to behold. We had a
welcome address at the Queensland Parliament
House from the President of Section Australia,
Michelle Harris. The magnitude of the event then
hit home - 63 Participants from 30 countries and
I was one of them! “Pinch me”, I thought to
myself.
The rest of the day comprised of lectures and
discussions from guest speakers. The first was
from Andy McGregor of the New Zealand police.
He had come to discuss the New Zealand
earthquakes and the Incident Command which
took place. It was a highly informative
presentation with a first hand account of the
incident and what followed. He described the
resilience shown by the officers and the people
of New Zealand. A representative of the Disaster
Victim Identification team, who was dispatched
from Australia to support New Zealand, also gave
an informative presentation on the dealing of the
aftermath of such a disaster.
The day continued with more presentations on
Drug Importation & Distribution, Illicit Laboratory
Investigations and Roads Policing - notably the
use of Roadside Analysis for Drugs.This was an
interesting topic, which prompted discussion
given that the UK has recently had Home Office
approval on devices for custody units.
Mobile Data plays an important part in my day to
day police work. So it was great to gain insight in
to what the Queensland Police strategy on ‘Smart
Phones and Policing’ was in this area. This then
led to a discussion with other participants and
revealed varying levels of use of mobile data
around the world - indicating its potential and the
possible way forward for front line policing.
Other topics being covered during the week
included, Cyber Crime/Fraud, Child Exploitation,
Identity Theft, Outlaw Motor Cycle Gangs and
Search and Rescue. The last followed by a large
scale demonstration of search and rescue
capabilities using lifeboats and a helicopter.
Cyber Crime was a topic which touched the
careers of nearly all the participants and it was
clearly evident that this is going to continue as an
ever growing problem. Tackling this problem is
difficult as police officers have borders and
jurisdictions, but internet criminals don’t conform
to these. The increased co-operation by police
forces and countries using agencies like Interpol
Alex Jones, a member from 4 Region Wales, tells of his experiences as he represented Section
UK at the 2nd World Seminar for Young Police Officers. The week long event encompassed
professional development and education - complemented with a social programme.
World Seminar for
Young Police Officers
Goes Down Under
16
The ‘British Bobby’ uniform was in demand for photograph opportunities