Page 20 - The police annual report 2016 annual report 2016

20 THE POLICE, ANNUAL REPORT 2016
Personnel from Lapland Police Department participated in the joint patrol training funded by the European Union together with their Swedish police colleagues. The joint patrol training was concluded in 2016.
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
REPRESENTATIVES from the National Police Board and police units participat- ed actively in international cooperation meetings and other events in 2016. The cooperation has been bilateral, multilat- eral and regional.
Crime prevention cooperation has been ensured by the European Union's crime prevention mechanism that helps imple- ment the annual operational meas- ures in accordance with the previously con rmed focus areas. Europol supports the member states in this work.
The second half of 2016 saw the participation in the preparation of Europol's Serious and Organised Crime Threat Assessment (SOCTA) for 2017.
Liaison of cers operating abroad have supported national operations. In addition, Finnish experts have been posted to both the Interpol's General Secretariat and to Europol in the role of a national expert. Work for Europol has been performed not only at the Hague headquarters, but in hotspots in Greece, where the work involves second line checks of immigrants.
The cooperation between nearby regions continued the implementation of the recent cooperation plan of ve countries (Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). The bilateral cooperation between Finland and Estonia has been excellent and it effectively implements the cooperation plan.
Law enforcement cooperation with Russia became closer when, after a hiatus of several years, a coordination committee convened at the end of 2016 in accordance with the crime prevention agreement between Finland and Russia. The importance of regional coopera-