14th Europol Training Course on Combating the Sexual Exploitation of Children on the Internet, (COSEC)

The 14th Europol training course on ‘COmbating the Sexual Exploitation of Children on the Internet’ (COSEC), held in Selm, Germany, at the LAFP-NRW Police Academy, concluded on 29 October 2013.

This eight-day course provided training for 54 representatives from EU Member States, non-EU States (Australia, Canada, Norway, Switzerland, Moldova and Israel) and Interpol. The training was delivered by trainers from Europol, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Portugal, France and New Zealand, all of whom have extensive knowledge and experience in investigating and combating the sexual abuse of children online. Guest speakers were invited from Interpol, Lucy Faithful Foundation and MovieStarPlanet. 

The training follows the European Cybercrime Centre's (EC3) approach to cybercrime and its training ethos. The approach is collegial, with expert trainers and investigators working in the field of child sexual exploitation coming together to network and exchange experiences. The main objective of this annual course is to enhance the expertise of those working in this crime area in the EU and beyond, so that they are better able to investigate and dismantle child sex offender networks on the Internet, with the rights and safety of the children involved being a priority.

In addition to lectures, ranging from perpetrator psychology and the latest online investigation techniques to international cooperation, the course programme included a wide range of hands-on exercises with the intention of aligning law enforcement investigation standards.

Since the first course took place in 2000, this highly respected Europol course has provided expert training to approximately 600 law enforcement officers and members of the judiciary from EU Member States and from countries around the world.