European First for University's Police Centre

Senior officers from the Danish National Police will be attending intelligence gathering courses at the University of Teesside's Centre for Police Research & Education (CPRE) for the first time, from 5 June-16 June. There will be an opportunity to photograph Detective Superintendent Arne Bjorn Hansen and Detective Chief Inspector Steen Pederen, of the Danish National Police, on Friday 9 June at 12.15pm, main reception, first floor, School of Social Sciences, Clarendon Building, University of Teesside.

The duo will be attending an Informer Management course, and are the first to attend the Centre from a European country. The officers will look at the ethical and legal issues involved in intelligence gathering, and consider the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights in relation to this issue. They will be followed in September by Detective Sergeant Jimmy Pettersson and Detective Sergeant Keld Rasmussen, also of the Danish National Police, who will attend the Informer Handling course.

The CPRE was launched at the University of Teesside two years ago, and one of its main activities is the Certificate in Professional Policing Programme, which examines various aspects of the investigative process, including intelligence gathering and professional ethics. The Centre has recently delivered one of its courses to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) on-site in Belfast for the first time. The short course, the first of its kind in the country, deals with issues surrounding domestic violence, and was delivered on three occasions during May and June.

The Centre's Director is Colin Dunnighan, a former Detective Inspector with Durham Constabulary, who said: "The interest of the Danish officers shows that the Centre's courses are having an impact outside the UK as well as within. Hopefully the Danish officers will be the first of many Europeans to attend our courses. Forces in Finland and Holland have also expressed an interest and we also hope to follow this through."

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