Regional police commanders are meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to discuss some of the transnational crimes that are on the rise.
Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome and DCI director Mohamed Amin are among the top officers who are attending the East African Police Chief’s Cooperation Organisation’s (EAPCO’s) 24th annual general meeting.
The theme of the meeting is promoting best practices in the fight against terrorism and transnational organized crimes, officials said.
It will run from December 6 to 9.
The EAPCO brings Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Seychelles, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti together against crime and promotes investments and cross-border cooperation by fighting cross-border crime.
EAPPCO is charged with carrying out regular reviews of joint crime management strategies in view of changing national, and regional needs and priorities
Koome said they are going to discuss many issues including terrorism, human trafficking and small arms proliferation as some of the transnational crimes that are on the rise.
“This is a body that helps to map out emerging crimes and come up with strategies that can help to contain them. So far we are doing well,” he said before leaving on Tuesday evening.
In their meetings, the regional police organisations announced an operation on human trafficking, illicit firearms, drug trafficking and theft of motor vehicles with an aim of reducing them by half.
EAPCCO Regional Counter Terrorism Centre of Excellence (CTCoE) in partnership with UNODC ROEA is conducting research for publishing issue papers on relevant and emerging trends and topics pertaining to terrorism prevention in Eastern Africa.
With financial support from the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany, since 2020, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has been implementing a project on supporting the EAPCCO and its regional CounterTerrorism Centre of Excellence (CTCoE).
The project benefits fourteen EAPCCO members1 in enhancing national and regional capacities to effectively prevent and counter violent extremism and terrorism, and transnational organized crime.
One of the objectives of the project is to produce evidence-based research and knowledge products, relevant to law enforcement and criminal justice practitioners in Eastern Africa.
The CTCoE developed this paper, a new instalment in the series of publications addressing various terrorism and transnational organized crime-related challenges faced by Eastern Africa, with support from UNODC as part of this objective.
