Back Council of Europe launched a new network of national law enforcement correspondents

@ Council of Europe

@ Council of Europe

The Council of Europe has launched a network of national police correspondents at a conference entitled "Policing in the digital age, how new technologies can help to better police our modern societies", held in Strasbourg on 28 and 29 June 2022.

The event brought together senior representatives of the Ministries of Interior and Heads of National Police Services of the Member States on the topic of policing in the digital age.

An initiative supported by the Committee of Ministers last May, this network is intended to strengthen technical cooperation between the police forces of the member states and the Council of Europe. It should enable :

  • better knowledge of police forces, their organisation, their modus operandi and their internal and external supervisory bodies;
  • the pooling of experience in the areas of human rights, democracy and the rule of law;
  • knowledge sharing on combating various forms of crime (organised crime, terrorism, trafficking in human beings, online sexual exploitation of children, hate speech and racism, cybercrime, domestic violence and violence against women, etc.);
  • the implementation of existing police standards;
  • participation, where appropriate, in the preparation of instruments for increased co-operation, taking advantage of the expertise and views of police representatives.

The network will also be tasked with preparing and disseminating comparative studies on aspects of policing in the light of the challenges of the 21st century (such as artificial intelligence, cybercrime, digital investigating technologies and managing public assemblies with due regard for human rights).

International police organisations including Europol, Interpol and organisations bringing together police trade unions at European level, will also be invited to contribute to the work of the network.

The police play a crucial role in the Council of Europe member States’ criminal justice systems. Police activities are carried out to a large extent in close contact with the public, and trust in the police is closely linked to their behaviour towards the public, particularly their respect for human dignity and the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual enshrined in the European Convention of Human Rights.

Since 2016, the Council of Europe has held five Conferences of High Representatives of Interior Ministries addressing the following issues: the role of the police in the fight against discrimination; respect for fundamental rights and freedoms in the context of strengthening the fight against terrorism; the fight against radicalisation and terrorists acting alone; the police’s role as a key player in the fight against domestic violence, and; under the title “the European Code of Police Ethics, almost 20 years”, the role of the police in a democratic society.

The European Code of Police Ethics points out that the purpose of the police in a democratic society governed by the rule of law is to maintain public peace and law and order in society, protect and respect the individual’s fundamental rights and freedoms as enshrined, in particular, in the European Convention on Human Rights, prevent and combat crime, detect crime, and provide assistance and service functions to the public.

 

More information:

  • Conference on “Policing in digital age, how new technologies can help better policing our modern societies”
  • Cooperation in police and deprivation of liberty

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Strasbourg, France 29 June 2022
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