Effective Regional Police-to-Police Cooperation, Combatting of Cross-border Crimes Carried Out

The outgoing president of the Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (EAPCCO) and Ethiopian Federal Police Commissioner General, Demelash Gebre-Michael, said effective activities have been undertaken to strengthen police-to-police cooperation and combat cross-border crimes in member countries.

Speaking at the 25th Annual General Assembly of EAPCCO in Bujumbura, Burundi, Commissioner General Demelash said police relations and cooperation were enhanced and joint efforts made to prevent and control transnational crimes across the region during his tenure.

Progress was made in bringing perpetrators to justice, especially in terrorism, human trafficking, arms, and drug smuggling, as well as money laundering, he stated.

The Commissioner General noted Ethiopia’s effective police reforms were shared with EAPCCO members, and capacity-building initiatives were undertaken.

The initiatives have promoted greater participation and engagement with the East African Police Union, African Police Union, Interpol, and other international security bodies.

Burundi’s National Police Inspector General, Frédéric Budomo, was elected as the new EAPCCO president, taking over from Commissioner General Demelash.

The meeting, themed “Leveraging regional policing capacities to promote law enforcement cooperation in the fight against terrorism and transnational organized crime”, aimed to address security threats facing the region.

The Eastern Africa Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (EAPCCO) is a regional police body whose membership consists of chiefs of police from 14 countries.

It was established in 1998 with the aim of harmonizing and strengthening police cooperation and joint strategies, sharing crime-related information, and harmonizing laws in order to enhance the capacity of law enforcement agencies to combat transnational organized crime.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency