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Presentation and validation of the “Handbook for evaluating the effectiveness/efficiency of police oversight bodies” in Luxembourg

In her capacity as Deputy Vice President of EPAC/EACN, Monique Stirn, General Inspector of the Police of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, invited EPAC/EACN members to a conference in Luxembourg on 6 April 2017 with a view to presenting and validating the "Handbook for evaluating the effectiveness/efficiency of police oversight bodies".

 Apart from Monique Stirn, who chaired the event, Andreas Wieselthaler, President of EPAC/EACN, Dominique Devos, General Controller at the General Inspectorate of the National Police of France (IGPN) and Vice President of EPAC/EACN, and other members of the networks EPAC and EACN, this meeting was attended by numerous high-ranking representatives of Luxembourg’s political and judicial authorities. Ms Francine Closener, Secretary of State of Internal Security gave an opening speech. Furthermore, delegates from organisations which are not members of EPAC/EACN participated in the conference.

The elaboration of a "Handbook for evaluating the effectiveness/efficiency of police oversight bodies" had been initiated by the IGPN at the 2015 EPAC/EACN Annual Conference in Paris in November 2015. The handbook is the result of an EPAC/EACN working group, headed by the French IGPN, involving several European police oversight bodies (POBs), among which the General Inspection of the Police of Luxembourg played an active part.

Given the diversity of standards and organizational structures existing in the fields of POBs and police ethics, an initiative facilitating a certain harmonization proved necessary.

The handbook is based on two complementary approaches: on the one hand, it intends to create a basis for an effective, objective and credible control of the law enforcement forces/agencies and, on the other hand, it emphasizes the importance of fundamental human rights.

In addition to the validation of the handbook, two lectures on the following topics were on the agenda:

"The charter of ethics of the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life: an example of adapting ethical principles to the specific tasks of a public institution"; presented by a member of the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life (France);

"Standards for Policing in England and Wales"; presented by two members of the College of Policing (United Kingdom).

The meeting was an important milestone in achieving the networks’ common goal of enhancing a high quality police work respectful of human dignity. It highlighted the importance of the networks EPAC and EACN as international platforms for cooperation and the exchange of experience and ideas on common challenges and problems.