BUJUMBURA October 25th (ABP) – The inspector general of the national police of Burundi, Mr. Frédéric Budomo, opened, Monday, October 23, 2023, the activities of the 47th meeting of the permanent coordination committee of the Organization of East African Police Chiefs’ Cooperation (EAPCCO), under the theme “Leveraging regional policing capacities to promote law enforcement cooperation in the fight against terrorism and transnational organized crime”.
That two-day meeting was organized with the aim of discussing an important and more urgent issue, the fight against criminal threats, which the Central African region faces on a daily basis.
In that meeting, they will also discuss the five subcommittees, namely the gender subcommittee, the antiterrorism subcommittee, the subcommittee which will study the framework, the training subcommittee and the cybercrime subcommittee.
According to him, transnational organized crime, with its complex networks and sophisticated operations, constitutes a major challenge. It manifests itself in various forms including drug trafficking, human trafficking, arms smuggling and cybercrime.
He took that opportunity to cite some areas used to achieve the objective of promoting law enforcement cooperation in Central Africa. Those include information sharing and intelligence exchange which need to be improved, capacity building measures should be prioritized and legal frameworks and extradition procedures need to be strengthened.
On information sharing and intelligence exchange, Budomo said they must establish secure communication channels to facilitate the timely dissemination of essential information. That includes sharing data on known criminals, suspicious activities and emerging trends in terrorism and organized crime.
On capacity-building measures, he noted that they must invest in technology and infrastructure training programs that enable their police forces to respond effectively to evolving threats. Regional training centers and joint exercises can play a vital role in strengthening their collective capabilities.
Regarding legal frameworks and extradition procedures, he recalled that criminals often exploit legal loopholes and differences between national laws to escape justice. On that, the harmonization of legal frameworks will facilitate seamless collaboration and allow criminals to be held accountable for their actions.
In addition, joint operations and task forces must be established to target specific criminal networks and operations, he added.
He challenged the police chiefs who are members of EAPCCO to collaborate across borders, transcending political differences and aiming for the common goal of ensuring the safety and security of their citizens.