ASEAN Unites Against Transnational Crime
By DSP Tan Tat Ting, DSP Wong Wee Ping, ASP Chong Chung Meng & Insp Daniel Seet

Key issues such as transnational crime and regional security demand the utmost attention, and these issues were high on the agenda when the Singapore Police Force (SPF) hosted the 27th ASEAN Chiefs of Police (ASEANAPOL) Conference from 4 to 6 June 2007. The Conference – convened at the Shangri-La Hotel – was attended by the 10 ASEAN police chiefs, deputy chiefs and their delegates, as well as delegates from observer countries such as Australia, China, Japan, Korea and New Zealand.

The timing of the Conference was apt because the arrival of the ASEAN police chiefs and delegates coincided with the annual Police Day Parade held on 3 June 2007. As a result, the ASEAN police chiefs had the opportunity to meet and chat with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the post-parade reception. They were also treated to an official welcome dinner at Parliament House, graced by the Speaker of Parliament, Mr Abdullah Tarmugi.

Highlights of the Conference

The 27th ASEANAPOL Conference was a landmark in many ways. The dialogue and discussion among the attendees helped to foster stronger bonds and close cooperation among the ASEAN police forces. Importantly, a number of key initiatives were established, including steps to increase the effectiveness of international cooperation.

Launch of Phase 2 Enhancement of the Electronic ASEANAPOL Database System

The Conference was officially opened by the Guest-of-Honour, Deputy Prime Minister and Co-ordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Law, Professor S Jayakumar. The highlight of the opening ceremony was the launch of the Phase 2 enhancement of the electronic ASEANAPOL Database System (e-ADS) by Professor Jayakumar, together with the ASEAN police chiefs and International Criminal Police Organisation-INTERPOL.

The launch is significant as it cuts down the duplication of efforts through the sharing of e-ADS information with the INTERPOL database system. Screening of both e-ADS and INTERPOL’s database can be done in a single query and records created in e-ADS can also be uploaded to INTERPOL’s system automatically.

ASEANAPOL in Concert

Sharing and interaction extended beyond the traditional arenas of police work. In conjunction with the Conference, SPF organised an ASEANAPOL-in-Harmony concert with more than 100 performers from across the 10 ASEAN police forces. The ASEAN police bands performed a wide repertoire of musical pieces to highlight the rich musical and cultural diversity of ASEAN.

Sports for Interaction

To encourage interaction and discussion of issues in a more informal setting, the police chiefs and delegates participated in the fourth ASEANAPOL ShootFest and ASEANAPOL 2007 Golf Tournament.

ASEANAPOL Joint Communiqué and INTERPOL-ASEANAPOL Declaration on Cooperation

The Conference also saw the signing of the ASEANAPOL Joint Communiqué and the INTERPOL-ASEANAPOL Declaration on Cooperation by the ASEAN Chiefs of Police. The Joint Communiqué detailed resolutions to cooperate in tackling regional security issues such as terrorism, cybercrime, commercial crimes, and transnational frauds, as well as to strengthen capacity building efforts among the member countries.

ASEANAPOL and INTERPOL are two important bodies for police cooperation in tackling security and criminal issues. To foster even greater cooperation between them, the two bodies endorsed the INTERPOL-ASEANAPOL Declaration on Cooperation, formalising the working link between the e-ADS and INTERPOL’s I-24/7 Global Police Communication System database.

Strategic Directions in Fighting Transnational Crime
First Heads of Delegation Discussion Forum and Working Group Meeting

These highlights and new developments were not confined to agreements. The Conference itself also saw a landmark breakthrough in the conference structure with the introduction of the ASEANAPOL Heads of Delegation (HOD) Discussion Forum and two Working Group meetings. The first group meeting built on the positions discussed and agreed among the ASEAN Chiefs of Police at the HOD Discussion Forum; the second group discussed and formulated action plans to enhance cooperation and capacity in combating cybercrime.

The new structure elevated the level of exchanges at the annual ASEANAPOL Conference beyond the traditional topic-centric tactical analyses of police cooperation at the Commission Discussions, to a higher level involving strategic planning by the ASEAN Chiefs of Police. Under this new structure initiated by Singapore, the ASEAN Chiefs of Police charted a clear and strategic direction in the fight against transnational crime.

At the inaugural HOD discussion forum, the ASEAN Chiefs of Police agreed to deepen ASEANAPOL’s engagement with INTERPOL and the Observers Countries. This will raise the profile of ASEANAPOL as an active and effective regional police cooperative body.

The strategic directions agreed upon were:

• Enhancing cooperation between INTERPOL and ASEANAPOL
• Engaging Observer Countries as Dialogue Partners
• Operationalising a capacity-building framework against cybercrime in ASEAN

One of the significant developments was the promotion of ASEANAPOL Observers to become Dialogue Partners. This will allow the ASEAN police forces to deepen their level of cooperation and further leverage on the expertise and the valuable capabilities of these partners. It was agreed that host countries of subsequent ASEANAPOL conferences would seek inputs from the dialogue partners on proposals for police cooperation and circulate them among ASEANAPOL member countries prior to the conference.

Operationalising the 27th ASEANAPOL Conference Joint Communique
Global Conference on Asian Organised Crime

SPF, as Chair of the 27th ASEANAPOL Conference, co-hosted the inaugural Global Conference on Asian Organised Crime from 22 to 24 January 2008 to show its commitment in combating organised crime and enhancing cooperation between ASEANAPOL and INTERPOL. The theme of the Conference was ‘Combating Threats, Anticipating Challenges’. More than 200 specialists from 32 countries attended the Conference to discuss issues such as casino operations, money laundering, drug and human trafficking.

Recognising the need to share the best practices of the various law enforcement agencies, SPF will continue to work closely with INTERPOL to develop a Handbook of Best Practices against Asian Organised Crime.

ASEANAPOL Communication and Coordination Protocol for Crisis Management (ACCPCM)

SPF also chaired the first working group meeting from 27 to 28 March 2008 to discuss the creation of the ASEANAPOL Crisis Communication and Co-operation Protocol. This protocol will establish a better interface for crisis management with swift and appropriate responses from ASEANAPOL and INTERPOL members in times of need.

Framework for Capacity Building against Cybercrime in ASEAN

Singapore took the lead in operationalising the proposed framework for capacity building against cybercrime in ASEAN. This framework comprises building blocks in policy formulation, investigation competencies, forensic capabilities, enforcement, information sharing and strategy formulation.

The framework was adopted by the ASEAN Secretariat at the 7th Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime (SOMTC) held from 26 to 28 June 2008 in Vientiane, in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR). It will serve as a reference for ASEAN as a whole, as well as for individual countries, to build their capacity to combat cybercrime.

SPF also organised a second run of the Cyber Crime Investigation Workshop (CCIW) from 8 to 10 April 2008, which was well attended by local and overseas participants from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand as well as France, South Korea and USA. With the theme ‘Fighting Cybercrime Across Borders – Building Partnership’, the workshop involved discussions and sharing of best practices in combating cybercrime.

The CCIW included a Joint ASEANAPOLINTERPOL Capacity Building session where participants from six ASEAN countries – Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia – embarked on their first steps towards developing, charting and presenting their specific Cybercrime Capability Roadmaps. This provided an excellent platform for ASEANAPOL members to discuss and develop a plan that maps out enhancements to legislative, investigation, forensic and other aspects of cybercrime fighting in their respective countries.

Moving forward, SPF will be proposing various initiatives for the build-up of cybercrime investigation capability among ASEANAPOL member countries. The initiatives include:

• To equip ASEAN member countries with a basic set-up of cybercrime investigation forensic capability;
• To conduct cybercrime investigation training; and
• To assist ASEAN member countries to chart respective roadmaps in cybercrime investigation capability building.

Formation of ASEANAPOL Secretariat

The third Working Group Meeting on the establishment of a permanent ASEANAPOL Secretariat was organised by SPF from 7 to 11 January 2008. The main objective of the Meeting was to continue the discussion on the terms of reference, as well as other issues pertaining to the establishment of the permanent ASEANAPOL secretariat.

Joint ASEAN Senior Police Officers’ Course

As the Chair and host country of the 27th ASEANAPOL Conference, SPF also conducted the 17th Joint ASEAN Senior Police Officers’ course (JASPOC) from 7 to 19 April 2008. This two-week course increased the knowledge and capability of ASEAN senior police officers, promoted regional cooperation and strengthened the friendship amongst police officers of ASEAN member countries.

Enhancing Cooperation for Regional Safety and Security

With crime transcending geographical boundaries, organisations can no longer work in individual silos. Instead, police agencies must forge closer ties with one another. In this spirit, the outward-looking nature of the initiatives proposed at the 27th ASEANAPOL Conference is a giant step in the right direction. With enhanced cooperation amongst the Police Forces of ASEAN, and with international law enforcement bodies such as INTERPOL, the SPF is pleased to have played its part and to have contributed to its mission to ensure the continued safety and security of the ASEAN region.