Cybercrime as a new challenge for police executives

MEPA specialist seminar at the Centre for International Training in Budapest

Between 19-22th February 2024, the CEPA seminar “Cybercrime as a new challenge for police executives” took place at the International Training Center in Budapest. The seminar was initiated by Major General Dr Sándor Töreki, Deputy National Police Chief for Criminal Investigation, Hungarian member of the CEPA Board. Cybercrime poses challenges for police forces worldwide, including in the Central European region, which can only be tackled successfully through international cooperation. Success will be greatly influenced by the appropriate integration of the fight against cybercrime into the structure of the police and the clear formulation of tasks in this area. Due to the novelty of the topic, all experiences and best practices need to be recognize.  

Major General Dr Attila Petőfi, Chief Representative of the National Police Chief, opened the event. In his opening speech, Dr Petőfi encouraged the participants to take advantage of the time to share as much information and experience as possible. 

The expert speakers from the Hungarian side were the representatives of the National Police Headquarters, the RIPO National Bureau of Investigation and the Police Headquarters of Győr-Moson-Sopron Castle County. Pol. Colonel Ágnes Nagy, Deputy Chief of Police for CID of Győr-Moson-Sopron Castle-County, gave a presentation on the crime situation, cybercrime, online fraud in the Castle-County and the possibilities of asset recovery. János Almádi, an external expert, spoke about the impact of artificial intelligence and its social aspects.

The foreign participants, criminal investigators in leading positions, reported on the services for combating cybercrime and their tasks in their countries. We listened to relevant information about the police structures and interesting cases in Austria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, Switzerland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic. Speakers were sent by Europol, Cepol and Bundeskriminalamt (Federal Criminal Police Office in Germany).

As part of a specialist excursion, we visited the Budapest Police Headquarters, where Colonel Dr Adrián Pál, Budapest’s Deputy Chief of Police for CID, presented two cases that met with a great response. We visited the Security Directorate, Cyber Protection Centre of OTP Bank Ltd. where Gábor Bucsek, Director of IT and Bank Security of OTP Bank Ltd. welcomed the group.

The specialist programme was complemented by a cultural supporting programme: a guided city tour of Budapest and a visit to the Hungarian Parliament. The early spring weather provided a wonderful backdrop for the programme. In their feedback, the participants highly valued the fact that, they were able to expand their information level and also their professional network of contacts, to which the round table discussions on the programme also contributed. They also expressed the wish that the seminar could be organized again in an extended version.

Final week of the 26th MEPA special course in Budapest

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

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.

For further information please contact:

Pol. Lt. Col. András GAÁL

CNU and Course Manager

Mobile: +36-30-326-17-74

e-mail: gaal.andras@nokitc.hu

CEPA alumni meeting at the International Training Center

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”.