Foreign police gather in Hanoi for program to combat child sexual exploitation

By Toan Dao May 31, 2016 | 05:06 pm PT

Twenty three police officers from Vietnam, 17 other countries and Taiwan have attended a three- week training program in Hanoi starting May 31 to promote joint efforts to combat transnational child sexual exploitation, according to a statement from the Embassy of Australia in Vietnam released Tuesday.

The Asia Region Law Enforcement Management Program (ARLEMP), which is held in Vietnam for the first time, will tackle issues involving online child sexual exploitation, child trafficking for sexual exploitation, and sexual exploitation of children in travel and tourism.

“One of the most serious transnational crime threats in the Asia-Pacific region is child sexual exploitation, both via online exploitation through the production, access and distribution of child exploitation material and through abuse perpetrated by travelling child sex offenders,” Australian Federal Police Manager of Victim Based Crime, Commander Glen McEwen, said at the opening ceremony on Tuesday.

Because crime is no longer restricted to one country's borders, the exchange of information and the cooperation between police forces around the world is crucial, Chief Constable Frans Heeres of the National Police of the Netherlands added.

Participants in the program that will last from May 31 to June 17 include those from Vietnam, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, the Netherlands, and Timor-Leste.

ARLEMP is a long-term partnership between Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security through the General Department of Police, the Australian Federal Police and RMIT International University in Vietnam. Around 750 police from various countries have attended the course since 2005.