The CEPA-Seminar “Special Support of Investigations” took place from 3 to 6 April 2023 in Budapest at the International Training Centre. The background for the seminar was provided by the working group “Special Support of Investigations” of the National Police Headquarters, Department for Criminal Analysis. The topic met a great interest, which can be seen from the high number of participants: 39 police officers and experts from seven CEPA member countries (A, CZ, CH, D, H, SLO, SK) took part in the event.
The weekly programme was held as planned with exciting lectures and round table discussions. The range of topics covered the presentation of the working group founded in 2021 and its international and scientific background, as well as the possibilities that the fields of forensic linguistics, non-verbal communication, artificial intelligence and machine learning, clinical psychology and psychiatry can offer, and case studies. The programme included a trip to the Faculty of Police Science at the National University of Public Service, where participants heard a lecture on new methods for interrogating traumatised children, followed by a casework session on this topic at the university’s Tactical House.
The group also had the opportunity to visit Budapest in a city tour and learn about the historical development and cultural background of Hungary.
A collegial network of contacts is crucial in the fight against cross-border crime. The national Contact Point of the CEPA in Hungary also offered participants the opportunity to establish and deepen professional and personal contacts during the seminar.
The Hungarian course week of the 26th MEPA special course took place between October 9th and 14th 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, 18 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 offers also included a visit to the Banknote Printing Company in Budapest, where the participants received first-hand information about the production of banknotes and security documents.
The 26th MEPA special course was concluded on October 14th with a festive award ceremony in the presence of high-ranking guests from home and abroad. Pol. Major General Dr János Zoltán Kuczik, Deputy for the National Police Chief and pol. Major 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. Pol. Colonel Dr József Balla PhD., Head of the National University of Public Services Faculty of Law Enforcement Department of Border Police, spoke in his ceremonial speech about the importance of international cooperation in the performance of border police tasks, to which CEPA, celebrating the 30th anniversary of its foundation this year, offers an appropriate background. In their closing speech, the course spokespersons, Ms Simona Kvapilová and Mr Marco Piontek, 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.
In September of this year, the Central European Police Academy held the final week of the certified MEPA main course 2022 in Budapest with the participation of 26 police officers from the seven member countries. This course was the first certified course in the history of MEPA. Participation in the course and passing the written and oral final exam were rewarded with 16 points in the European Qualifications Framework. During the course, the participants gain up-to-date knowledge about cross-border organized crime in the seven MEPA member countries. At the last venue, in Budapest, the main topics on the agenda were cybercrime, human smuggling, the latest methods in investigating cases of homicide and corruption.
The MEPA main course 2022 was concluded on September 16, 2022 with a festive award ceremony in the presence of high-ranking guests from home and abroad, among them the founding fathers of the CEPA, Dr János Fehérváry and Dr József Magyar. Mr Stefan Aergerter, the director of the Swiss Police Institute and Dr Richárd Leyrer, Head of Department of the Ministry of the Interior, handed over the certificates to the course participants for the successful completion of this CEPA training. In his speech, Mr Stefan Aergerter described the important role that MEPA plays in international police cooperation. The course spokesman, Mr Paolo Bariffi, spoke in his closing speech about the uniqueness of the training and thanked all responsible MEPA employees for organizing the course.
At the International Training Centre, the Alumni meeting for the participants of the Central European Police Academy (CEPA) Criminal Courses of the years 1996, 1997, 2009, 2016 and 2017 took place between 5th-9th September 2022; a total of 45 participants had the opportunity to meet again in Budapest.
The event was officially opened by Brigadier General Dr. István Farkas, the Hungarian CEPA Board of Trustees member, Director of the International Training Centre.
The seminar took place in an excellent and friendly atmosphere, with several classes having the opportunity to meet, get to know each other and establish new contacts.
The seminar achieved its aim of exchanging the latest information on international criminal cooperation, as well as building and fostering contacts between seminar participants. The lecturers were mostly participants of the seminar, former Criminal Course graduates from different years.
At a professional excursion, the group visited the Hegyeshalom-Nickelsdorf Common Contact Point at the Hungarian-Austrian Border where we gained insights into cooperation, especially in the fight against illegal migration.
The group also visited the National University of Public Services Faculty of Law Enforcement Department of Forensic Sciences, where Colonel Gergely Gárdonyi PhD, the Head of Department gave a lecture and a practical demonstration on “Crime scene investigation in practice” and Lt. Colonel András Vigh gave a lecture about the expert system in Hungary. After this a week with lectures, professional excursions and cultural programmes – sightseeing in Győr and sport at Normafa – it was again shown how the CEPA-family is expanding and how we preserve these invaluable CEPA-contacts.
