Conakry — A two-day meeting of the Technical Sub-Committees of the West African Police Chiefs Committee (WAPCCO) ended on Friday, 15th July 2011 in Conakry, Guinea with participants committing themselves to police joint, simultaneous and mixed operations beginning later this year, in the continuing pursuit for a safer and more secure West Africa.

The police chiefs also agreed to focus, among others, on child trafficking, vehicle thefts and trafficking in Small Arms and Light Weapons as priority areas for the first phase of their renewed fight against trans-national crimes in the region. In this regard, they recommended preparatory intra-State meetings with other law enforcement agencies for greater coordination and efficiency. The police chiefs also called for a deepening of collaboration with the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) General Secretariat to ensure better information management. WAPCCO is responsible for poli ce operations and harmonization of relevant legislation in Member States, while INTERPOL supports the region by allowing extended access to its databases, providing training and facilitating police joint operations.

Previous WAPCCO meetings have recommended that the ECOWAS Commission and INTERPOL should provide financial and technical support, respectively towards ensuring effective policing in West Africa. The outcome of the Conakry meeting will be presented to the next WAPCCO Annual General Assembly which will take place from 26th to 27th July 2011 in Abuja, part of a series of three major security meetings to be held at the ECOWAS Commission headquarters this month. The others are the meetings of the Committee of Chiefs of Security Services and the Forum of Ministers in charge of Security in West Africa scheduled for 27th and 28th July 2011 and on 30th July 2011, respectively.