IPO HQ LEADERSHIP AT CRIME PREVENTION INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE IN PRAGUE

IPO HQ Leadership represented by Executive President Dr. Tomori Mareglen and the General Director of IPO HQ & IPO LED Mrs. Sanela Nikolic participated in the conference "Urban environment – security threat or opportunity for prevention?" which was organized on the occasion of the Presidency of the Czech Republic in the Council of the European Union and took place as a full day event on 6 October 2022 in the Prague Congress Center by the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic in cooperation with the Czech Standardization Agency and the Secretariat of the European Committee for Standardization and EUCPN.

The aim of the conference was to raise awareness within the EU (at the level of institutions and representatives of cities and police forces) about the concepts of Crime Prevention through Environmental Design / Crime Prevention through Urban Design & Planning and technical standards of crime prevention for safety and public order in cities - explanation of the concept and its benefits in practice and the importance of standardization in this area.

The IPO Headquarters Leadership was invited by the Chair of EUCPN and Director of the Crime Prevention Department of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic JUDr. Michal Barbořík a few months ago when they also held a video meeting with Mrs. Dorien Stevens, Officer of Policy and Strategy of EUCPN where was discussed to a possible collaboration contribuiting together with the same goals.

The EUCPN is the European Crime Prevention Network that aims to connect the local, national and European levels and to promote crime prevention knowledge and practices among the EU Member States. The Presidency of the EUCPN is focused on working with a particularly vulnerable crime victim.

The aim is to exchange experiences and good practices, most importantly in the areas of early identification of victims of crime prevention of their secondary victimization and re-victimization, and how to increase motivation to report crimes and thus reduce the latency of crime. This can be achieved, inter alia, by improving the communication skills of law enforcement authorities increasing pro-client access to crime victims, witnesses, and persons reporting crime.

At this conference, participated many experts from different countries and presented their projects but also was opened the possibility for cooperation with other organizations to contribute together for better future.

The conference was opened by JUDr. Michal Barbořík, Chair of EUCN and Director of the Crime Prevention Department of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic.

Among many others:

Professor Caroline L. Davey, Director of the Design Against Crime Solution Center University of Salford, Great Britain. Topic - "Cutting crime impact" The value of a Human-Centred Design approach to addressing crime and security problems

Colonel Mgr. Zuzana Pidrmanová Head of the Prevention Department of the Police Presidium of the Czech Republic. Topic - " Innovative project and application "Secure yourself" focused on burglary prevention "

Mr. Petr Kubis, Director of the City Police. Topic - "Prevention in schools"

Mrs. Teili Piiskoppel, Head of community police in Ida-Tallinn district, Estonia.

Topic- Building Safer Cities Together and examples of best practice ( CPTED ) in the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board)

Mrs.Carla Napolano, Deputy Director of EU Programs and Network Life at European Forum for Urban Security (Efus). Topic - Partnership on the security of public spaces of the Urban Agenda for EU / How to plan, design, manage and secure public spaces while respecting fundamental freedoms.

Dr. Anke Schröder State Office for Investigation, Department of Research, Prevention and Youth Competence Center for Urban Security in Lower Saxony, Chairwoman of the German National Standardization Committee for Crime Prevention.

Topic - Urban Security as a cooperative and transdisciplinary approach in a small-scaled local context in the use of standards for crime prevention in urban design and planning

Mrs. Macarena Rau Vargas, President of the International CPTED Association.

Topic - CPTED and its use in practice, the role of standardization in this area

Mr. Paul van Soomeren the Netherlands, Director of the Board of the International CPTED Association. Topic - "A police partnership approach for Crime Prevention through Environment design"

Prof. Caroline Davey United Kingdom & Andrew B. Wootton, United Kingdom, Cutting Crime Impact – The value of a Human-Centred Design approach to addressing crime and security problems

All presentations were focused on prevention, which also is the main goal of our organization and all the projects and work we are developing through various ongoing activities in many countries of the world with different institutional factors that intersect with our objectives.

At the end of this conference, Dr. Tomori and JUDr. Barbořík talked to each other about the concrete possibility of creating cooperation with the same goals, prevention, through education and other various activities in cooperation with the main state institutions, and also the possibility of the formation of the IPO Section in Czech Republik.

Dr. Tomori also spoke about the goals and work of IPO as well as about our educational programs and cooperation with international institutions and participation in activities of the UN, NATO, EU, etc., while Mrs. Nikolic presented the IPO LED - Law Enforcement Department, the vision and the projects we are preparing and which will be realized in cooperation with the Ministry of the Interior in every country where IPO have sections, as well as in cooperation with other state institutions that aim to prevent crime in any form.

She was talking to Mr. Kubis according to his presentation "Prevention in schools" which has the same goal as the school project "You are safe with me" that IPO has prepared and will implement in all Sections.

This international prevention conference opens a new window for the development and realization of projects and the objectives of the IPO in cooperation with competent state institutions, contributing together for a safer community, for a safer tomorrow.

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