INTERPOL Working Group Meeting

The 3rd Eurasian Working Group Meeting on Cybercrime for Heads of Units, jointly organised by the INTERPOL Global Complex for Innovation and the Cyber Security Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, took place in Xiamen, Fujian, between September 23 and 25.

The meeting brought together over 100 cybercrime investigators from 27 INTERPOL member countries in the Eurasian Region. A Force delegation was in attendance, comprising Senior Superintendent (SSP) Chan Wing-on, Chief Inspector (CIP) Wong Chun-yue and CIP Lau Chi-ming from Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau (CSTCB), as well as CIP Tsang Chun-kit and Senior Inspector Ko Lok-lam from Commercial Crime Bureau (CCB).

The meeting saw the handing-over of the Working Group's outgoing and incoming Chairman and Vice-Chairman. In his inaugural speech, the new Chairman, SSP Chan, expressed gratitude to his predecessor for his contribution to the Working Group. He also recognised the success of the joint operations and capability building programmes co-ordinated by the Working Group during his predecessor's tenure.

SSP Chan appealed for continuous support from member countries for using the Working Group as a platform to devise initiatives for fighting cybercrime and maintaining Internet security. In the next two years, he would provide a strategic and operational platform for co-operation for the INTERPOL member countries in the Eurasian Region.

At the meeting, the delegates discussed the latest trend of cybercrime and prepared the next round of joint operations. The representatives of CSTCB and CCB presented the situations of social media deception and romance scam in Hong Kong with a view to exploring the possibility of co-operation.

Established in November 2013, the INTERPOL Eurasian Working Group on Cybercime for Heads of Units aims at enhancing the capability and co-operation of INTERPOL member countries in the Eurasian Region in fighting cybercrime and providing a platform for sharing strategies, cutting-edge digital forensic techniques and good practices in investigation.

International Symposium in UK

Commercial Crime Bureau Chief Superintendent (CCB CSP) Wong Ying-wai and Chief Inspector (CIP) Tsang Chun-kit attended the 33rd Cambridge International Symposium on Economic Crime in the University of Cambridge, the UK, from September 6 to 11.

Featuring the "Role of Compliance in the 21st Century" as a theme, the symposium brought together ministers, legislators, regulators, law enforcement officers and scholars from over 100 countries to share experiences of preventing and fighting serious economic crime.

CSP Wong and CIP Tsang also took the opportunity to call at the Joint Money Laundering Intelligence Taskforce (JMLIT) at the Headquarters of the National Crime Agency (NCA) in London. The JMLIT is a pilot project developed by the UK Home Office, NCA, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), British Bankers' Association and other financial institutions. Coming into being in February, it provides a platform for the financial sector and law enforcement agencies to exchange and analyse information and intelligence for investigating, preventing and thwarting money laundering and economic crimes.

The officers also visited the FCA, the regulatory body of the UK financial market, and the head office of the UK Serious Fraud Office responsible for investigation and prosecution of the most serious and complex fraud cases in the UK.

The UK visit helped enhance the co-operation, mutual understanding and goodwill between the Force and the UK.

Visit to U.S. Coast Guard

A delegation led by Marine Region Deputy Regional Commander Patrick Hodson and comprising Superintendent Lau King-lun and Senior Inspector Mok Ka-hei, together with two officers from Government Flying Service, visited the United States Coast Guard (USCG) of the Pacific Area Command in Alameda, USA, from September 23 to 28.

During the visit, the delegation met the Commander of Pacific Area, Vice-Admiral Charles Ray, and exchanged views on maritime security and explored training opportunities. The delegation also visited the Coast Guard Cutter Stratton, Air Station of San Francisco and the Maritime Safety and Security Team.

Mr Hodson commented that the USA visit allowed the Marine Police to get a better understanding of maritime security and related issues of the USCG.

Public Event Course in UK

Chief Inspector (CIP) Lam Siu-wah from the Regional Public Order Event Investigation Team (RPOEIT) Hong Kong Island    Region and Senior Inspector Li Ka-ming from District Crime Squad 1 Central District visited Somerset in the UK last month and attended a five-day public event evidence gathering course organised by the UK College of Policing.

The course covered case studies on the tactics of gathering evidence during public events and discussion on the UK laws related to public events.

During the course, CIP Lam introduced to the trainees the operations of the newly established RPOEIT and the challenges the Force had encountered while handling public events. He will share with his colleagues the knowledge he had learned from the course.

Leadership Training in Indonesia

With the arrangement made by Police College, Senior Inspector (SIP) Tong Kam-wai from Organized Crime and Triad Bureau attended a Regional Executive Leadership Programme (RELP) at the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Co-operation in Semarang, Indonesia, between August 22 and September 11.

Attending the programme were a total of 26 police leaders from 15 jurisdictions. During the three-week training, the participants took part in different training sessions: team-building exercise, reflection on leadership, group presentation on counter-terrorism tactics, scenario training in terrorist incident, and visit to a counter-terrorism unit in Indonesia. Experts in security and counter-terrorism also shared their experiences with the participants.

For SIP Tong, the RELP offered useful training, especially in developing individual leadership competency, knowledge of worldwide counter-terrorism tactics, as well as international and regional police partnerships.