Module II of TOPSPOC IX

Module two of the CEPOL TOPSPOC IX course was held at the ISPJCC – Instituto Superior Polícia Judiciária e Ciências Criminais, the Judiciary Police School at Loures, Portugal, on 23-27 May 2011.

In accordance with the Stockholm Programme the topics chosen for this four?module course require participants to:

1. use and promote the learning gained on the course through Action Learning for their personal and professional development and to benefit their national colleagues;
2. transpose the objectives of the subject area in their own country;
3. explain how the subject area has impacted upon their daily work process;
4. utilize the network established during the course to enhance international police cooperation;
5. share and apply best practices discussed during the Course.

The objectives for this 2nd module were to adopt suitable technique to assist their research; to discuss the findings of the research undertaken after module 1; to practice Action; to describe the learning processes applied in Action Learning; to support other members in the group in the Action Learning process; to use questions to clarify and seek information about selected topics.

This course is a four module course organised by 4 Member States:

• Module 1: Police Training Centre - Vienna, Austria on 14 – 18 March 2011;
• Module 2: Instituto Superior de Policia Judiciaria e Ciencias Criminais - Loures, Portugal on 23 – 27 May 2011;
• Module 3: An Garda College - Templemore, Ireland on 12 – 16 September 2011;
• Module 4: Tallinn, Estonia on 28 November – 2 December 2011.

Twenty-five participants took part in the second module of the course mainly from EU Member States, but also from Europol, Interpol, Norway and Switzerland. All were already committed to the assignments given in the first module and were divided into four groups.

The coaches for the course were Piet de Brouwer from Belgium and Elaine McCarthy, from Ireland.

The module’s assignments were the following:

• Topic 1 - Explore effective measures of crime prevention at a European Level.
• Topic 2 – The role of police leadership in promoting ethical standards.
• Topic 3 - How can training improve police leadership and common professional standards in the future?
• Topic 4 – The challenges of legal and illegal migration in Europe.

The course’s opening ceremony was attended by Elisabeth Zinschitz, Project Officer at the CEPOL Secretariat, who spoke about the benefits of the four module format. Mariana Raimundo, course manager, explained the Portuguese police system, Eduardo Ferreira (ISPJCC) gave a presentation on crime prevention and ethical standards. Day two saw Luísa Maia Gonçalves, Portuguese Border and Aliens Police, give a presentation on Migrations. The participants also received a presentation from a former TOPSPOC participant – Lt. Colonel Duarte Ferreira, GNR Portugal.

The remainder of time was dedicated to group work. The participants worked together, in four groups, to check the results from the work done subsequent to the first module and to prepare the work to be done in-between modules two and three.

The course’s final day gave the participants the opportunity to make their own schedules for the following months work prior to Module three in Ireland. The module was closed by the ISPJCC director, Carla Falua.