European Police College : strengthening police cooperation through learning.
Date: 2014-11-19
Institutions: European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training
Subjects: CEPOL, EU police cooperation, fight against crime, organised crime, public awareness campaign, vocational training

European Police College

ST RENGTHENING POLICE COOPER ATION THROUGH LEAR NING

European Police College

STRENGTHENING POLICE 

COOPER ATION THROUGH 

LEAR NING

About CEPOL

The European Police College (CEPOL) is an EU agency

dedicated to training police officers and, in particular, 
to strengthening the capacity of law enforcement agencies 
to respond to evolving threats, focusing on those with a 
European — or cross-border — dimension, such as drug 
trafficking or terrorism.

Each year, CEPOL organises approximately 100 different 
activities on key topics relevant to police forces across 
Europe. In 2013, over 8 000 police officers participated in 
CEPOL’s courses, seminars, conferences and webinars.

CEPOL is based in Budapest, Hungary. 

Working together

Collaboration and cooperation are at the heart of how the 
European Police College operates. CEPOL works with its 
network of national police training institutions in the EU 
Member States to provide quality training to senior police 

and law enforcement officers, drawing on expert training 
resources from across Europe. CEPOL courses take place 
across the EU, mainly implemented by the network of police 
training colleges.

In addition, CEPOL has dedicated national contact points in 
every Member State to provide information and assistance to 
police officers who wish to participate in CEPOL activities.

Cross-border threats meet cross-border responses

Security threats don’t stop at borders nor should Europe’s 
capacity to combat threats. In recent years, organised 
criminal gangs have been operating more and more 
like global businesses, showing greater collaboration, 
greater mobility and greater diversification. To facilitate 
a stronger cross-border approach to combating organised 
crime, CEPOL brings together senior police officers from 
across Europe to exchange best practices and skills to 
improve the fight against crime.

CEPOL also works with fellow EU agencies, such as 
Europol, Frontex and Eurojust, as well as other international 
organisations, such as Interpol, to ensure that the most 
serious security threats are tackled with a collective response. 

Targeted products for targeted threats

Every year, the EU identifies the most important serious 
organised crime threats, which include terrorism, drug 
trafficking, trafficking in human beings and cybercrime. 
In designing its annual work programme and training 
catalogue, CEPOL puts a priority on providing training 
related to these serious crime threats. Courses in 
airport security, firearms trafficking, cybercrime and 
counterterrorism are examples of the types of activity that 
CEPOL organises.

e-Learning; accessible 
learning for all

It’s not just classroom-based training and 
residential courses on offer at CEPOL, there are 
now 19 online modules to choose from, covering 
a wide variety of topics. You can participate in 
a webinar, of which more than 40 were planned 
in 2014, or you might like to join one of our 
growing online communities; a great way to 
share best practice, knowledge, skills and real 
life experiences.

So while e-learning will never fully replace 
CEPOL’s more traditional training activities, 
it plays an increasingly significant role in our 
training strategy and offers alternative or 
complementary learning, thereby enhancing our 
existing training portfolio. 

Taking part! If you are a police officer and are interested in any of 
CEPOL’s courses or activities, please visit the CEPOL website to find out 
more and how to register (http://www.cepol.europa.eu). 

‘During my visit, I 

had the opportunity to attend 

and photograph real crime 

scenes. I was impressed with 

the different equipment and 

technology available in Sweden 

and, together with my host, I 

was able to adapt some of the 

ways that things are done in 

Sweden into my day-to-day work 

in Bulgaria, using my existing 

equipment. I could also introduce 

my Swedish colleagues to the 

Bulgarian approach to training 
crime scene photographers.’
crime scene photographers.’
crime scene photographers.’

Forensics expert, Bulgaria

in 2013, 444 police officers from 
25 participating countries used 
an exchange to build a better 
understanding of serious crime 
issues and how to tackle those 
issues.

To find out more about the European 
Police College, go to  
http://www.cepol.europa.eu 

‘... the knowledge I gained, 

the new people from many 

countries I’ve met and their 

experience in our work, will 

be very useful to me’

ENFAST course participant,  

Budapest

Explore —  
Exchange —  
Experience:  
building a 
European  
police culture

The European Police Exchange 
Programme (EPEP) fulfils one 
of CEPOL’s key objectives in 
developing a European police 
culture. While the classroom 
embeds the theory of cross-border 
police cooperation, EPEP puts 
this theory into practice. Every 
year, police officers from across 
Europe travel to another country 
to spend two weeks with another 
police force, seeing how things 
are done. Each exchange offers the 
opportunity to share knowledge 
and foster deep and long-lasting 
networking between partners. 
Exchanges increase appreciation of 
different cultures, remove biases 
and break down barriers. 

From community policing, to 
counterterrorism, from dog-
handling to drug trafficking and 
from forensics to financial crime, 

CEPOL at a glance Statistics from 2013

103 courses, 
seminars, 
conferences 
and 
webinars

8 251
participants
94 %
satisfaction

34 staff
18 
nationalities

19 online 
learning 
modules

Q
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0
2
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1
4
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7
6
0
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E
N
C

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A selection of CEPOL activities

Police Leaders

The EU Policy Cycle

Aimed at the most senior level 
of law enforcement officers this 
new modular police leadership 
training activity covers a range of 
topics including; motivate your 
staff, improve policing within fast 
changing environments, and operate 
with limited resources. This activity 
will also contribute towards the 
development of the next generation 
of police leaders.

Working closely with operational 
experts, CEPOL designs and delivers 
tailor-made training that addresses 
recent trends in priority crime 
areas.

Training activities and topics 
complement Operational Action 
Plans and fully support and reflect 
the current 2014–17 EU Policy 
Cycle.

European Police Science and 
Research conference

This is an annual conference 
that brings together researchers, 
scientists, police practitioners and 
educators to present and discuss 
the state of police science in Europe. 
The conferences highlight the role 
that police science and research 
play in strengthening crime-fighting 
capabilities.

Policing in Europe 

Launched in 2011, this multi-
modular course covers the legal and 
operational aspects of international 
police cooperation. This activity has 
developed into a European joint 
Master’s programme, and from 2015, 
students who successfully complete 
two years of part-time study will 
be awarded a university accredited 
Master’s diploma.

To find out more about 
the European Police College’s 
full training catalogue, go to  
http://www.cepol.europa.eu

European Police College
1066 Budapest
Ó utca 27
HUNGARY
Tel.: +36 1 8038030/1
Fax: +36 1 8038032

All correspondence to:
1903 Budapest, 
Pf.314, Hungary.

E-mail: info@cepol.europa.eu
http://www.cepol.europa.eu