FILE PHOTO. Abdul Basit © The Peninsula
DOHA: As the 7th Conference of the International Association of Police Academies and Colleges (INTERPA) themed “New Trends in Combatting Terrorism and Extremism” is set to start on Monday, Director General of the Police College Brigadier Dr Mohamed Abdullah Al Mohanna Al Marri said Qatar is proud host the conference as Qatar is among the first few countries which issued laws against terrorism.
Under the patronage of Prime Minister and Interior Minister H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, who is also Chairman of the Supreme Council of Police College, the 7th Conference of the International Association of Police Academies and Colleges (INTERPA) themed “New Trends in Combatting Terrorism and Extremism” will kick off on Monday.
“Qatar issued the first anti-terrorism law in 2004, and then introduced the amendment in it in 2017. The terrorism is not limited only to organisations, even there are countries practising it. We hope that this conference will provide good outputs for the benefit of the students of police colleges around the world and for the authorities or entities fighting against terrorism either from legislative fronts or on ground,” Al Marri said while talking to Qatar TV.
“The police officers today have great tasks and we at the Police College looked for the best policing courses to include in the curriculum which we are teaching to our students.”
Today, Al Marri said, fighting terrorism is very important because it has become a common concern for the whole world, and we hope that hosting such conference will provide good outputs in this regard. He said that there are many ways to curb terrorism like awareness programs, legislative efforts and fighting against it.
He told Qatar TV that the Police College was teaching various courses like state security, organised crime, cyber crimes, and money laundering etc. He said that the first batch joined Police College in 2014 and now we have taken the fifth batch in the college.
As many as 42 countries and four international organisations specialised in the security field will take part in the conference.
The three-day conference will be attended by a distinguished group of researchers, academics, police and security professionals, as well as members of the International Association of Police Academies and Colleges, with the aim of exchanging experiences and knowledge of global best practices in countering terrorism and extremism.
Participants will discuss issues of political violence, combating terrorism and extremism, how to manage crowds during important events such as international sporting events among other topics.
Director General of the Police College Brigadier Dr Mohamed Abdullah Al Mohanna Al Marri said that the conference is an opportunity to exchange ideas and benefit from the expertise in the field of combating terrorism and extremism, and to know future methodologies on these issues as well as strengthening communication and relations with members of the International Association of Police Academies and Colleges.
He added that strengthening the relationship with this international association provides an opportunity to access a comprehensive database of best practices in the field of combating terrorism and to interact directly with a group of leaders and experts in the field of security and police work.
Major Jabr Hamoud Jaber Al Nuaimi, Director of the Department of Administrative and Financial Affairs at the Police College and Chairman of the Preparatory Committee of the Conference stressed the importance of convening such an international event to address pressing issues of concern to the region and the world.
“Terrorism is a real danger that needs to be dealt with scientifically, based on information and analysis provided by security, and legal specialists,” he said.
He added that the conference, which is hosted by the Police College, represents a vital platform for the exchange of expertize between police and security academies worldwide, which includes the identification of the theoretical and practical capabilities and knowledge of the members in order to reach the best applied scenarios in combating this transnational crime, beliefs and cultures.
The Chairman of the Preparatory Committee for the Conference hoped that the participants would come out with important recommendations that would provide effective security measures to States and security institutions, with effective measures and deterrent plans to ensure that terrorism is both intellectually and practically curbed.
The INTERPA was established in 2011 with the aim of developing a system of exchange of knowledge and expertise to reach best practices in the field of police training in the police academies of the member states. It currently has 67 bodies from 52 countries based in the Turkish capital of Ankara. The College of Police (Qatar) was elected to the Executive Council during the 5th meeting of the General Assembly of the International Association of Police Academies and Colleges INTERPA held in Khartoum in March 2016.
