VietNamNet Bridge – Twenty three police officers from Asia, Australia, the Middle East and the Netherlands are attending the 41st Asia Region Law Enforcement Management Program, a training course that opened in HCM City on Tuesday.

Police officers from Asia, Australia, the Middle East and the Netherlands are attending the 41st Asia Region Law Enforcement Management Program. — Photo courtesy of the Australian Consulate General.

The programme, initiated by the Ministry of Public Security, the Australian federal police, the Dutch police and RMIT Viet Nam in 2005, is this time about “Transnational Organised Crime and Outlaw Motor Cycle Gangs (OMCGs).”

The course, which ends on September 9, has become a flagship programme for emerging police managers and leaders in the region.

Over 800 officers have benefited from it since its inception and are now working together to combat transnational crimes in the region.

It is the first training programme in Viet Nam to focus on preventing and investigating OMCG threats to local communities.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Karen Lanyon, the Australian consul in the city, spoke about the importance of working together to combat complex criminal activity through partnerships built on co-operation and trust.

“In order to break these [criminal] networks, it is vital that policing organisations work together to build even stronger networks.”

Acting Commander Anthony Hall of the Australian federal police’s Acting Manager Organised Crime, said, “OMCGs are highly sophisticated, and are networked nationally and internationally, which means law enforcement agencies cannot afford to work in isolation, or focus their efforts on individual crime types or enablers.”

Colonel Le Tan Tao, deputy director of the General Department of Police, said, “OMCGs are not confined by national boundaries, which means that a joint response is crucial.

“Countries’ law enforcement agencies should further enhance their collaboration and help each other in a joint effort to combat transnational crime and OMCGs.”

The officers attending the course are from Viet Nam, Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, the Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates.

Source: VNS