The Inspector General of the Romanian Border Police, Chief Commissioner of Police Ivașcu Victor Ștefan, participated on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, together with specialists from the Directorate for Preventing and Combating Illegal Migration and Cross-Border Criminality of the GIBP, in the "A governance framework for combating organized crime" workshop. The working meeting of the specialists in the field of Romanian and British public order and safety takes place between May 4 and 6 of this year and is organized by the British Embassy in Bucharest and the National Crime Agency in the United Kingdom - NCA .The event was attended by the British Ambassador to Bucharest, Mr. Andrew Noble, representatives of the NCA, the Inspector General of the Romanian Police, Chief Quaestor of Police Benone-Marian Matei, and the State Counselor in the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, Maria Madalina Turza.
The aim of this meeting is to exchange best practices between the UK and Romania, as well as to identify new opportunities for bilateral collaboration between the two states in terms of a systemic and integrated approach to combating organized crime, including discussions on risk management methods and the 4P model (pursue, prevent, prepare and protect).
Members of the British Border Police, the Immigration Bureau, the Crown Prosecutor's Office and Romanian representatives from the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Justice Department are also taking part in the talks, sharing their perspective and explaining the challenges they face in the fight against cross-border crime. The workshop was also attended by representatives of the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Police, the General Inspectorate of the Romanian Border Police, the National Agency Against HumanTrafficking, the Directorate for the Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism, and the Special Telecommunications Service.
In his speech at the seminar, the Inspector General of the Romanian Border Police stated that “the cross-border criminal phenomenon, manifested on typologies such as illegal migration, smuggling of excisable products, trafficking in human beings, drug trafficking and money laundering activities, terrorism and cybercrime, accentuated by a well-organized character, forces the competent national and European authorities to take increasingly strong positions based on a coordinated approach.
From our perspective, of the Romanian Border Police, in relation to the attributions conferred by law, illegal migration and smuggling of excisable goods represent the worst forms of cross-border organized crime. Thus, the Romanian Border Police shows a continuous concern in identifying the most effective methods to fight organized crime, by using available resources, permanent training of personnel with responsibilities in the field, as well as by close cooperation with the authorities. national and international law enforcement, in joint investigations. "
The British Ambassador Andrew Noble stated: “The United Kingdom and Romania have a strong and long-lasting partnership in combating cases of modern slavery and human trafficking, both operationally and in the area of prevention. We are glad that, together with our colleagues from the National Crime Agency in Great Britain, we were able to facilitate these discussions for the exchange of good practices in order to develop the bilateral relationship between the Romanian and British authorities in the fight against organized crime. Threats by organized crime groups cause serious damage to individuals, families and undermine entire communities for generations to come, but together we can prevent them. "
Such a meeting is of real use to law enforcement authorities involved in combating organized crime with a cross-border impact, as well as in supporting and strengthening inter-institutional cooperation relations between the police structures in Romania and the relevant structures in the United Kingdom.
