The International Police Association’s (IPA) UK section visited their Gibraltar counterparts for the first time on the Rock this week.

Six members of the IPA UK have spent the past week building links with the Gibraltar IPA and officers across the Royal Gibraltar Police.

The aim of the visit is to build closer ties between UK police forces and the RGP, whilst promoting training opportunities, sharing policing contacts and expertise.

A mixture of serving and retired officers, the IPA UK committee members gave talks at New Mole House Police Station, including a presentation to the force’s Women In Policing Committee.

The group were given tours around RGP departments, such as the Marine Section.

The IPA UK members also visited the Convent for a meeting with the Governor of Gibraltar, His Excellency Sir Ben Bathurst, and Deputy Governor Marc Holland, before meeting representatives of the Rock’s Association of Retired Police Officers at the IPA Gibraltar Headquarters on North Pavilion Road.

Later in the week, the Gibraltar Defence Police’s (GDP) Chief of Police John McVea invited the group to their Headquarters, to encourage more GDP officers to join the Gibraltar IPA.

RGP officer Jason Russell, who is the Vice President of the Gibraltar IPA section, said: “This week has helped us build some good connections and friendships with our colleagues in the IPA UK section. This will no doubt help with future training opportunities for officers both here and in the UK.”

Clive Wood, President of the IPA UK section, added: “It has been a delight to spend a few days in Gibraltar with our friends from the IPA Gibraltar section. It is my first visit to the Rock and we have received excellent hospitality. I really hope that we will be able to facilitate members of the Gibraltar section on professional development visits to the UK. A huge thank you to all of those involved in facilitating our visit. It feels such a shame to return to the UK weather!”

The International Police Association is a friendship organisation for police officers, whether serving or retired.

It was founded in 1950 by English police sergeant Arthur Troop.

There are around 369,000 members in 68 countries on six continents, making the IPA the largest police association in the world.

The visit was facilitated by the Gibraltar Tourist Board, Visit Gibraltar, Dolphin Safari and staff at the Convent. 

For more information on the IPA Gibraltar section, visit https://ipa-gibraltar.gi