The Hungarian course week of the MEPA special course 2023 took place between October 16th and 20th at the International Training Center. At four event locations, the participants enriched their knowledge with the help of lecturers and experts on the subject of border police tasks and compensatory measures. During the Hungarian course week, which was also the final week, 24 police officers from the seven MEPA countries were received. In addition to the presentation of the border police situation of Hungary and the migration pressure, the main topics also included biometrics and the criminal police aspects of illegal migration, such as smuggling in human beings. The participants took part in an excursion to the border crossing point in Tompa, which is under the jurisdiction of the Bács-Kiskun County Police Headquarters, to the security border barrier and the border police inspectorate in Bácsalmás. The range of activities also included a visit to the National University of Public Service, where participants received first-hand information about police training and further education.
The MEPA special course 2023 was concluded on October 20th with a festive award ceremony in the presence of high-ranking guests from home and abroad. Mr Pol. Colonel Dr. László Balázs, Head of Department, State Police Headquarters Department for Border Police and pol. Lieutenant Colonel Dr Éva Földesy, Head of the National Contact Point of the CEPA in Hungary, handed over the certificates to the course participants for the successful completion of this CEPA training. Mr Pol. Colonel Günter Wendt, Deputy Head of Department for Border and Alien Police Affairs of the Austrian Police Headquarters, spoke in his ceremonial speech about the importance of international cooperation in the performance of border police tasks in challenging times, to which CEPA offers an appropriate background. In his closing speech, the course spokesperson, Mr Stefan Schaab, spoke – after projecting a photomontage from the professional photos of the Austrian participant Klaus Huemer, spoke about the knowledge and experiences they had acquired during the course and thanked all the responsible employees at MEPA for organizing the course at a high level.
CEPOL 83/2023 Disaster Victim Identification, Management and Joint Operations course
The International Training Centre, with the support of the National University of Public Service, organized CEPOL 83/2023 “Disaster Victim Identification, Management and Joint Operations” course from 3 to 7 July in Budapest, Hungary. The aim of the course was to establish an enhanced coordination and management of national and international DVI operations.
30 DVI trained colleagues arrived from 23 Member States, 3 participants came from Ukraine and 1 from Türkiye.
The main goal of the 4-day long course was to enhance and harmonize the level of knowledge of law enforcement personnel involved in coordinating and managing disaster victim identification as well as in the identification of deceased victims. The participants successfully established effective training capabilities in this field by exchanging knowledge and experience regarding the preparation, setting up a DVI team and reviewing the different tasks of the DVI process with a specific focus on the multidisciplinary dimension. Those who successfully completed the course will be able to pass on their knowledge effectively in their own countries.
The organizers, with the support of Hungarian National Bureau of Investigation, and Hungarian Institute for Forensic Sciences and the expertise of trainers from the Interpol, Israel and Portugal, succeeded in transferring practical knowledge at a European level, which can greatly contribute to the development and implementation of Member States’ own practices.
The course took place on the premises of National University of Public Service, where the participants worked in small groups, monitored by several instructors.
Participants also had the opportunity to – after formulating DVI Teams – participate in scene management and recovery practical exercises. One of the aims of the simulation exercises was to give the students an insight into the physical reality of the theoretical knowledge provided by the experts. With the help of actors and mannequins, participants were given the chance to demonstrate their acquired knowledge in a school shooting scene.
The students were engaged and they gathered lots of useful information during the course.
The alumni meeting for main course graduates of the years 1998, 1999, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2010 took place between the 5th and 9th of June 2023. The event was opened by pol. Brigadier General Dr. István Farkas, director of the International Training Centre, member of the MEPA Board of Trustees. According to the traditions of the CEPA alumni meetings, courses of several years are convened in order to expand and deepen professional and personal contacts. The alumni meeting is also an international seminar. The lecturers from the Hungarian side were the colleagues of the Main Department Evaluation and Analysis of the National Police Headquarters, the RPO National Bureau of Investigation, the University of Public Service Faculty of Police Sciences and the Institute for Basic and Advanced Training of the Police. Mr Thomas Herko, police attaché at the Austrian Embassy in Budapest, and the participants themselves reported to the audience on relevant criminal police issues and interesting cases. As part of field trips, we visited the University of Public Service and the department of the Institute for Basic and Advanced Training of the Police in Dunakeszi, where the group watched a spectacular exercise with dogs. The lectures were supplemented with a cultural frame program. The participants visited the Hungarian Parliament and the Tihany peninsula at Lake Balaton with great pleasure, and also took part in the physical education lesson at Normafa. MEPA attaches great importance to the development of its contact network. The alumni meetings form an essential building block for this. How highly the graduates value this is also evident from their experience reports: “What I particularly liked about this seminar was the refreshment of the contact network, the well-prepared excursions and the top topics of the lectures”.
Between 27th March and 12th May 2023 twenty police officers took part in the Criminal Course of the CEPA, held at seven venues – in Prague (CZ), Ljubljana (SLO), Bern (CH), Biberach (D),, Vienna (A ), Bratislava (SK), and Budapest (H). The training focused on cross-border / international criminal investigation, the fight against organised crime, cyber-crime, illegal migration, corruption, on prevention, the fight against crime against property, including the theft of high-value motor vehicles, and the cooperation of police forces in the region.
This course was the second accredited course in the history of the CEPA, the participants received 16 points validated by the European Qualifications Framework for participation in the training, as well as for passing the oral and written exams.
The Criminal Course was closed on the 12th May 2023, with a graduation ceremony in Budapest, at the International Training Centre, attended by distinguished, high-ranking guests from home and abroad.
Major General Prof. Dr. Frigyes Janza, representative of the Ministry of Interior, Chief Education Observer, presented the founding father of CEPA, Brigadier General Dr. József Magyar, on the occasion of his 85th birthday, with the decorative sabre awarded by Minister of Interior Dr. Sándor Pintér, in recognition of his merits. Major General Prof. Dr. Frigyes Janza thanked Brigadier General Dr. József Magyar for his decades of successful work in the police force, praised his outstanding role in the establishment of the CEPA and delivered the wishes of the Minister of Interior for the success of the Central European Police Academy in its next 30 years of work.
Afterwards, Major General Dr. Sándor Töreki, Deputy Chief of the National Police for Criminal Matters, Hungarian member of the CEPA Presidency, presented the students with the diplomas certifying the successful completion of the course. Mr. Robert Furman, General Director, Slovenian member of the CEPA Presidency, gave the keynote speech, in which he highlighted the role of CEPA in international law enforcement cooperation and the importance of regional cooperation.
The course speaker, Mr Maxim Litoschenko, spoke in his closing speech about the uniqueness of the training and thanked all responsible employees of the CEPA for the organization of the course.
