"If there is a dark side to increasing globalization, then it
surely stems from the increased scale of transnational crime," said
Tsang Yam Pui, the
Hong Kong SAR's commissioner of police.
Tsang made the statement ahead of a four-day Transnational
Organized Crime Conference due to be held in Hong Kong on March
18.
Entitled "Bridging the GAP - a Global Alliance Perspective on
Transnational Organized Crime", the conference will consider a
broad spectrum of criminal activities threatening the international
community, Tsang said.
Hong Kong police sources said more than 400 delegates are expected
to attend from around the world.
"Its primary aim is to strengthen the operational, legal and
cultural frameworks that enable law enforcement agencies around the
world to cooperate effectively in the fight against transnational
organized crime," Tsang said.
Computer crime, money laundering and the changing trends in
narcotic offenses all pose serious threats to society, Tsang said,
noting that such threats cannot be addressed by law enforcement
agencies working in isolation.
"It is essential, if we are to combat these threats, that we
increase the levels of cooperation between governments, law
enforcement agencies and communities themselves," he said.
The hosting of the conference befits the Hong Kong police force, as
the force has a long-time tradition of knowledge sharing and
international cooperation.
Within the Hong Kong police, the crime wing, for example, has
recently organized a series of experience-sharing sessions to
enhance its officers' work knowledge and broaden their horizon.
Introduced since last December, officers from the Crime Wing attend
the monthly sessions voluntarily in their spare time, said Crime
Headquarters Superintendent Peter Barnes.
Crime wing's Senior Inspector Teresa Chiang, the coordinator of
these meetings, said, "Various topics are covered, including the
laws and legal system in the mainland. We also invite specialists
such as Department of Justice officials to share their expertise
with our officers."
One of the sessions arranged recently was on the development of the
force's Commercial Crime Bureau's Technology Crime Division.
In
the aspect of international cooperation, Senior Superintendent
Philip Sham is one of the Hong Kong police who has much experience
to share.
Sham has been trained in the International Faculty of National
Police Training in the United Kingdom, where he has spent some 20
months developing police training programs under a secondment
arrangement between the UK and Hong Kong to run international
police training activities in the UK and other countries.
But the knowledge Sham gained from the training does not only
benefit Hong Kong. Sham was on a trip to the city of Brasov in
Romania recently to develop a police management course for the
police force there.
"This training course, which is the second of a series of three
programs, dovetails with the reform strategy of the Romanian Police
in preparation for the country's accession to the European Union,"
Sham said.
"It bears a special meaning to me for being able to provide
training and work with colleagues from the motherland, and to be
able to give assistance and support to them in a foreign country,"
Sham said, recalling a training management program he developed for
a delegation of senior police officers from
Zhengzhou public security bureau in Henan
Province in March last year.
Police management, Sham said, is a universal and cross-cultural
practice with increasing globalization of the world.
So
the Transnational Organized Crime Conference to commence on March
18 will live out the spirits of international cooperation and
knowledge sharing.
Chairman of the Organizing Committee for conference and Assistant
Commissioner of Police Peter Yam said, "While transnational crime
has been identified as a threat to society for three decades now,
advances in telecommunications and dramatic increases in all modes
of international travel which facilitate world commerce can just as
easily encourage transnational criminal activities.
"The fact that the conference will be attended by officials from
some of the highest echelons of international and national law
enforcement bodies are obvious reflections of the importance these
top crime fighters attach to the subject and also the high esteem
that the Hong Kong Police Force now enjoys among its peers
overseas," he noted.
Commenting on the four main areas of transnational criminal
activities, Yam said multi-national efforts to combat drug
trafficking were the most well-established type of international
law enforcement cooperation.
The conference would seek to examine recent developments, including
changes in the types of narcotics currently crossing borders, he
said.
Notable keynote speakers at the conference will include, amongst
others, Director of Criminal Investigation Department of the
Chinese
Ministry of Public Security Zhang Xinfeng, Secretary- General
of Interpol Ronald Noble, the United Kingdom's Chief Inspector of
Constabulary, Sir Keith Povey.
(
March 16, 2002)