23/05/2023
Representatives of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces visit Spanish National Police units and exchange knowledge on training and quality procedures with their counterparts
Lebanese delegation with national police counterpart personnel
A Lebanese delegation has carried out a study visit on training and quality procedures in the Spanish National Police. Five senior officers from the so-called Internal Security Forces (ISF) were able to benefit from exchanges with their Spanish counterparts.
The visit took place within the framework of the European project to support community policing in Lebanon, which aims to foster social cohesion by promoting community policing that respects human rights and the rule of law in Lebanon. The director of the FIIAPP, Anna Terrón, received the Lebanese delegation at the Foundation’s headquarters in Madrid, confirming the FIIAPP’s commitment to support a rapid overcoming of the difficult multidimensional crisis that Lebanon has been facing since 2019.
The aim of the visit was to enable the participants to obtain a wider range of information and practices from their Spanish counterparts on training and quality procedures and to discover the procedures, manuals and continuous quality improvement, accreditations, vision and policies in place for training in the Spanish police.
During the five days of work, the Lebanese representatives of the FSI, led by the director of the FSI Academy, were able to learn about the Spanish experience and exchange knowledge on training and development in the Training and Development Division (DFP) of the National Police Force. During this meeting, it became clear that there is a need for continuous updating, not only to prepare for the challenges of a society in constant evolution, but also, and above all, for a criminality that is constantly evolving.
A visit was also made to the headquarters of the National Police School (ENP) in Avila to exchange experiences on the initial training of future officers. The exchange programmes proposed by the ENP are particularly relevant when it comes to establishing links with foreign security forces. These are carried out under the aegis of the International Cooperation Division (DCI) of the National Police, and are open to foreign police officers, which is why this visit is intended to open the way for Lebanese officers who wish to do so.
In Avila, they also took the opportunity to visit the Catholic University of Avila (UCAV), which offers a wide range of official and own degrees in Security, in collaboration with other institutions and entities and within the framework of the Centre for Training and Research in Security Management, specifically, from the Chair of Police Studies that the UCAV runs in collaboration with the National Police School of Avila.
During the study visit, meetings and working sessions were held at the DCI and the Family and Women’s Care Unit (UFAM). The experience of the UFAM and the path followed by Spain in the creation of this unit since the 1980s is very interesting for Lebanon, as it proposes to establish a unit specialised in gender violence. The UFAM experts shared the difficulties, including the scarcity of material and human resources, in creating a similar unit.
Finally, the visit concluded with an exchange between Lebanese and Spanish officers in the Police Intervention Unit (UIP), a unit of excellence composed of mobile teams that manages public security.
