Francopol workshops on police participation in peace operations

On March 10 and 11, 2011 Francopol and the University of Montreal’s International Centre for Comparative Studies in Criminology presented a series of workshops on police participation in peace operations. Around 20 researchers and policing practitioners from contributing Francophonie countries attended, including Switerzland, France, Burkina-Faso and Canada.

Chief Insp. Claude Levac of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), also Francopol’s Secretary General, opened the two day event. I also represented the SQ at the workshops, explaining the history of my service’s involvement in peacekeeping efforts since 1995 as well as the operational challenges we have faced over the years.

Sgt. Jacques Maillet from the RCMP’s International Peace Operations Branch gave a presentation on the Canadian system for police deployments to peace operations. Montreal Police Commander Mario Fournier spoke of his police service’s participation in the program and the positive impact of their participation.

The workshops prompted fruitful discussions among participants in various areas, including training, the rationale for participating in international policing and post-mission workplace reintegration. Those discussions also identified the need to study these matters further.

As a result of the workshops, a scientific study will be published on police participation in peace operations. In addition, Francopol announced the creation of a technical committee dedicated to researching police contributions to peace operations, with a focus on developing best practices for the international deployments of police resources.