International counter terrorism forum to be held in Melbourne

Photo: heraldsun.com.au

The theme of the conference is ‘Global Terrorism Prevention’ and this marks the first time the conference has been held outside of the United States.

The three-day forum brings together key national and international partners across law enforcement agencies, emergency management, government and academia.

Police from the Counter Terrorism Command (CTC) will host the forum in Melbourne, with a range of speakers from across the world including the United Kingdom, USA, Canada, France, New Zealand, Singapore and Belgium.

The presenters come from a wide range of backgrounds and include international leaders in counter terrorism investigation, response and prevention.

Over the three days they will share their unique insights and experiences in the prevention of terrorism and violent extremis.

Organisations represented at the conference include the UK’s Metropolitan Police, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, French RAID, International Centre for Political Violence and Terrorism Research at Nanyang Technical University (Singapore) and the UK Fixated Threat Assessment Centre.

Assistant Commissioner Ross Guenther said the conference was a fantastic opportunity for practitioners from around the world to come together and share knowledge and best practice solutions.

“With the events in Melbourne over the past few weeks, it is a fitting time for us to be hosting the LinCT International Counter Terrorism Forum,” he said.

“Like many of the other organisations represented, Victoria Police remains committed to growing our knowledge while also building our counter terrorism capabilities.

“The reality is that terrorism is very much a global threat, hence the theme of the forum this year.

“We also recognise that this is something that no single organisation can combat alone and the ability to meet and discuss our experiences in an ever evolving counter terrorism landscape is exceptionally beneficial.

“We expect to be able to take a lot away from the forum that will allow us to ensure we are doing everything we can to best protect the Victorian community.”

Victoria Police Counter Terrorism Command was established in May 2015 and over the last year had a number of successes using new legislation to work with other law enforcement agencies, security and State and Federal Government departments in countering the evolving threats to the Victorian security environment.

The CTC focus very heavily on assisting all international and national stakeholders in an education, training, prevention and disruption approach, which has also included use of the National Security Hotline.