European Railway Police: together against crime and illegal immigration
The meeting of the Working Group on "Crime and Illegal immigration", attended by 15 representatives of the European Railway Police Force, will end today.
The two-day seminar, hosted by the Italian Railway Police in Rome, is part of the initiatives promoted by the Italian Presidency of the EU Council, in cooperation with RAILPOL, the European Network of Railway Police Forces.
The main objective of the Working Group is to exchange information and share best practices to develop common strategies for tackling crime and illegal immigration in the railway environment.
These proactive initiatives include the so-called "24Blue Rail Action Day", a 24-hour common action, during which all participating countries carry out security checks at train stations and on trains aimed at reducing and preventing crime.
During the meeting, participants have analysed the results of a survey, promoted by the Italian Presidency of the EU Council in cooperation with RAILPOL, on the best practices adopted by EU countries in the fight against copper cable theft on the railway network.
The Working Group has also finalized the details of the next Rail Action Day, called "Red Gold", when participating countries will carry out an extensive monitoring along the whole railway network to thwart copper-cable theft.
The Italian Railway Police have always been at the forefront of the fight against copper theft and their efforts resulted in a decrease in the number of cable thefts in recent years, thus confirm the effectiveness of the strategies adopted.