Australian police officers and international policing practice

As of January 2020, Australian police are not represented amongst the figures for UN peacekeeping missions, despite higher demands for more police peacekeepers within UN mandated missions (UN, 2020; Sharland, 2016, 2017). However, maintaining involvement in a wide range of international policing initiatives retains significance to Australian police, particularly the AFP. Under the AFP International Engagement Strategy for 2020 and beyond (AFP, 2018b), Australian involvement in international policing includes engaging in the exchange of criminal intelligence and information sharing, cooperation and collaboration with international police organisations and partners. It further involves targeting transnational offences such as organised crime, terrorism, and child exploitation, through international arrangements, while continuing to undertake peacekeeping and capacity-building measures as required. These measures take several forms in the Asia-Pacific region, such as the Pacific Police Development Programme – Regional (2019) and the newly established Transnational Serious Organised Crime Pacific Taskforce between Australia, Fiji, Tonga, and New Zealand. Such initiatives forge partnerships and information-sharing capabilities between police agencies in addition to building upon existing task forces with other police organisation internationally. The growing shift towards international engagement is a significant milestone for policing in the 21st century. The AFP identify in their Corporate Plan 2019-2020 that there may be the need to engage “unscheduled evaluations of International Operations” in response to any changes or emerging issues that arise in their operational objectives (p26). Any future arrangements in international police peacekeeping must continue to be held in a negotiated space which acknowledges that Australian police peacekeepers are well resourced materially and equipped with contextual knowledge to achieve successful and sustainable outcomes towards achieving peace and security.