Forces united in double challenge

Terrorism is a global challenge, experts were being told

The world's police forces face the same demands in tackling international terrorism and crime, a conference of law enforcement officers has been told.

Mark Willingham, president of the FBI National Academy Associations, told delegates in Edinburgh that much could be gained from co-operation.

That message was echoed by Peter Wilson, president of the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland.

More than 200 officers from across the globe have arrived for the event.

The FBI NAA puts officers from all over Europe through training at the FBI's US headquarters in Quantico, Virginia.

Speaking before the start of the conference, Mr Willingham said: "Policing across the world is all the same, there are nuances and there are language issues, but policing is the same.

"We all face the same barriers, the same risks and the same opportunities for improvement.

We're building the conference round the theme of information sharing and trust, which is important Peter Wilson President of Acpos

"The two issues we're all speaking about regardless of what country we are from are international crime and international terrorism, both of those things impact on people all across the globe.

"What we do best at the FBI NAA is provide state of the art training for our members and the opportunity for networking, so that if you have an issue, you will know who to call."

Delegates were due to hear how Scottish and other UK forces handled policing of the G8 summit at Gleneagles earlier this year and about the efforts to tackle people trafficking in Albania.

Mr Wilson, who is chief constable of Fife Constabulary, said: "We're building the conference round the theme of information-sharing and trust, which is important.

"We already have good links with the FBI because of the common training we have, and it's about having a link when the need arises.

Ways of sharing information are being discussed by delegates

"A lot of these networks aren't used all the time but when we have a problem we can say 'I know someone I can go and phone' because we have that contact."

Scottish Justice Minister Cathy Jamieson opened the event at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

She said: "The need for law enforcement agencies to work together to share intelligence has never been greater.

"Some of the problems that are facing us across Europe require common solutions, none perhaps more so than our fight against serious and organised crime and the threat of terrorism.

"No single country can tackle these matters alone, we need to work together, we need to co-operate."

Conference delegates will also visit the Scottish Police College at Tulliallan.