2014 European Police Chiefs Convention at Europol attracts police chiefs from all over the world

Almost 300 police chiefs, senior law enforcement officers and academic experts from Europe and beyond gathered at Europol headquarters in The Hague this week for the 2014 European Police Chiefs Convention (EPCC).

Co-hosted by Europol and the Italian State Police in the context of the Italian Presidency of the Council of the EU, the event attracted high-level representatives from all 28 EU Member States as well as Albania, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Colombia, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Israel, Liechtenstein, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey and the USA. Representatives from Interpol and EU institutions including the European Parliament also attended.

Following the preparatory work of four expert working groups during 2014, EPCC participants discussed the experts' findings on core issues in policing which included cybercrime economic crime, illegal immigration, and terrorism. Delegates also heard a presentation about the experiences of the Dutch-led international investigation into the crash of flight MH17 in Ukraine. The event also offered the opportunity for law enforcers to exchange ideas and to agree on a set of joint recommendations for future policies.

The participants heard contributions from Alessandro Pansa, Chief of the Italian Police; Ernesto Savona, Professor of Criminology at the Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore; Ian Livingstone, Deputy Chief Constable of Police Scotland; Yost Zakhary, President of the United States' International Association of Chiefs of Police; Janine van den Berg, Deputy Commissioner of the Dutch National Police; Giuseppe De Angelis, Director of Border Service for the Italian Police; Franz Lang, Director of the Austrian Federal Criminal Office; Lamberto Giannini, Director of the Italian Central Directorate of Criminal Police; and Europol's Director, Rob Wainwright.

"Now firmly established as the home of the European law enforcement community, Europol is delighted to have played host to so many leading experts from the field of fighting crime and terrorism. Our community is growing stronger by the day and increasing its operational impact on security threats in the EU." says Rob Wainwright.