- Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organisation (SARPCCO) has reaffirmed its commitment for joint cross-border initiatives designed to combat transnational crime. The group has further welcomed INTERPOL's Global Security Initiative (GSI) to set capacity building of police in Africa as one of its primary objectives, at the 13th annual general meeting held in Namibia.
At the meeting, world's global police organisation also participated with main objective to demonstrate to police chiefs and heads of law-enforcement agencies worldwide that a global and integrated approach was vital to fight 21st century crime. The launch of the programme was also to ensure that all crucial activities integrate coherently and efficiently to support police in neibouring countries.
The two-day meeting brought together police chiefs from 13 SARPCCO region countries where Interpol's Secretary General Ronald K. Noble remarked that crime in Southern Africa region, like elsewhere in the world, continues to be greatly affected by organised transnational criminal groups outside the region.
Mr Noble congratulated chiefs of police for integrating the body in Southern African Development Community, which he said was dedicated to enhancing development in the region, and testimony to the importance of its global role and demonstration to the region's vision in placing law enforcement within a broader perspective.
Interpol has engaged OASIS (Operational Assistance Services and Infrastructure Support) to help member countries and others in Africa to develop a global and integrated approach in fighting 21st century crime by enhancing the capacity of member countries to address crime threats nationally, regionally and globally. The model will spread to other member regions.
Mr Noble clarified that OASIS is developed to assist Interpol and law enforcement agencies to acquire tools and skills they need in order to increase their capacity to work with colleagues in neighbouring countries as well as all around the world.
African police and Interpol will be the first bodies to turn new strategy into a reality on the continent and help shape a model to benefit other regions of the world through enhanced human and technical capacities, more efficient operations and greater long-term objectives in fighting criminal networks, according to the global police body.
Interpol's forensic expertise, to southern Africa region, will include assistance of drug detector dogs as well as communication devises.
Through OASIS, the region has also been promised support to build a network of its own experts and resources available to assist other countries in the member regions. Other African regional police chiefs bodies include CAPCCO (Central African Police Chiefs Committee), EAPCCO (Eastern African Police Chiefs' Co-operation Organization), and WAPCCO (West African Police Chiefs Committee).
Among activities in Africa that were given as success stories in integrated efforts to fight transnational crime, was recent deployment of the body team to Guinea-Bissau which helped to capture a plane which contained large shipment of cocaine from South America, Interpol official disclosed at Namibia meeting.
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