PW-2-2026

Article

A Year of IPA and British Overseas Territories

Joint Working By Lorna Corbin , Section UK AVP L&D, on behalf of the BOT project group The International Police Association is all about the policing family internationally and supporting our British Overseas Territories (BOTs) has been a priority for Section UK IPA in 2025 and 2026. I wanted to provide members with an update on how the engagement activity has progressed between the IPA and the BOTs as a result of the sponsorship of HMG Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). Starting in March 2025 and continuing quarterly into 2026 the IPA has hosted a series of networking webinars, which focused on particular policing topics. This enabled best practice sharing between BOT colleagues. Several BOT colleagues were in similar roles, which meant they were able to connect and share ways of working. We also connected BOT colleagues with IPA members in the same specialisms. One example of this was connecting BOT colleagues from the Sovereign Based Area (SBA) Cyprus Police to IPA UK’s Steve Chalmers. Everyone connected online initially, fantastically this led to an exchange opportunity, in which SBA colleagues visited MPS for a couple of days- and one evening met more IPA UK colleagues at the Civil Service Club (photo attached). The #SHEisIPA Project Team and led by May-Britt V. R. Ronnebro and Marie Daly held a year-long BOT Mentoring Program. It started in October 2024 as a 12-month program with ten mentors and ten mentees (seven from BOTs Cyprus SBA and Royal Gibraltar Police and three from UK policing). #SHEisIPA Seminar Success At the recent SHEisIPA April seminar in IBZ Gimborn representatives from the British Overseas Territories made a www.ipa-uk.org Vol 71 No.2 2026

It concluded with a presentation ceremony on Thursday 25 September 2025, including thanks from IPA International President Martin Hoffmann. Those involved have seen real benefit from participating and it was a very successful project. Thank you to all of those who were involved from Section UK. As the series of BOT networking webinars covered opportunities the IPA offers including Gimborn Seminars, this resulted in: 1 #SHEisIPA ‘Embracing an Inclusive Vision for the Future’ Seminar in April 2025 a Royal Gibraltar Police officer attended. 2 Two SBA officers attended the #SHEisIPA ‘Empowering Female Leaders in Law Enforcement’ seminar, which took place in Germany between 23-27 October. These colleagues brought with them insight and expertise which was willingly shared with women from across 25 other countries. The project engaged with the BOT Women in Policing (WIP) network and therefore the webinars have been opened up to all colleagues in the network which includes all aspects of the policing family. The key thing about the 2025 engagement program was that it created the opportunities for BOTs to connect internationally and build their professional networks. As a result of the work being done, we are delighted that many of those sponsored by the FCDO in 2025 have asked to continue their membership of Section UK as Foreign Associate members, or have joined their respective section (Gibraltar, for example) directly. Assistant Commissioner Rob Atkin is keen to set up an IPA Section on the Cayman Islands, and Section UK are assisting him with that. Section UK IPA and #SHEisIPA are honoured to have delivered the 2026 online British Overseas Territories Women in Policing Awards. 59 nominations were received across the six categories. All the judges for these awards are Policing Senior Leaders in UK, which has raised the profile of both the IPA, Section UK and the BOT WIP network. Finally, the upcoming #SHEisIPA ‘Empowering Female Leaders in the IPA and Beyond’ will take place between 12-17 April 2026 at IBZ Gimborn, and there will be several BOT colleagues, which is a fantastic step towards connecting everyone internationally and building professional networks.

IPA Section UK

The magazine of the International Police Association, Section UK

significant contribution, sharing their unique policing experience, as well as their culture. The front cover picture shows Section UK President Karen Duckworth with delegates and presenters representing the United Kingdom; Royal Cayman Islands Police Service; Bermuda Police Service, Royal Anguilla Police; Sovereign Base Area Police (Cyprus); Royal Gibraltar Police”.

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POLICE WORLD Vol 71 No.2, 2026