Gibraltar represented in IPA World Congress meeting

The International Police Association (IPA) Gibraltar Section participated in the 66th IPA World Congress meeting held last month in Athens, Greece.

Royal Gibraltar Police Constables Jason Russell and Eric Philbin, both IPA Gibraltar Section committee members, attended the congress in their capacity as Vice President (delegate) and Secretary General (observer) respectively.

They were hosted throughout by the IPA Hellenic Vice-President, a previous visitor to Gibraltar who spoke at length about the relationships he had enjoyed over the years with members of IPA Gibraltar, the RGP said in a statement.

“The congress saw IPA delegates from around the world participating in a number of social, cultural and professional networking events, as well as general discussions about police recruiting, IPA worldwide membership numbers and IPA training opportunities for members,” the RGP added.

The congress culminated with elections to the IPA International Executive Board, with a number of candidates delivering presentations to the congress after submitting their names for a four-year term of office.

“We are very grateful to IPA Greece for their hospitality and their efforts in ensuring a successful congress,” Mr Russell said.

“It has been a great experience overall, representing the RGP and Gibraltar whilst meeting and sharing experiences with colleagues from across the world.”

“Eric and I seemed to be the most photographed people there, probably due to our traditional ceremonial dress uniform and custodian helmets.”

“We were constantly being stopped for pictures which almost caused us to arrive late to the official event group photograph.”

“The collection of uniforms from across the world gathered together under one roof was truly impressive.”

IPA Gibraltar President, PC Benjamin Bentley said the branch in Gibraltar is a “small section with significantly fewer resources than other IPA sections worldwide”.

“However, we have a small but very dedicated committee of officers who volunteer their personal time to organise various events for our members throughout the year,” Mr Bentley said.

“It is important for Gibraltar to be represented internationally at IPA level, and as a committee, we rely on fund-raising and association membership fees to fund our participation at overseas events, such as this congress, IPA international sporting events and operational, patrol, and training exchanges where possible.”

“I wish the new IPA executive board every success and we look forward to working with them.”