International Investigative Interviewing Research Group - IIIRG is an international scientific confernce on criminal investigation co-hosted by 07 agencies: University of Portsmouth (UK), Centre for Forensic Linguistics of Aston University (UK), Norwegian Police University College, University of Newcastle (UK), the Kids Internet Safety Alliance - KINSA (Canada), University of Derby (UK), Quebec National Police Academy (Canada). Vietnam has been invited to  participate this annual meeting in 2014 in Switzerland and 2015 in Australia.

This year, the 9th Annual Conference was held in the UK and focused on the following topics:

- Elements that influence the skill of taking testimony, interrogations.

- Interviewing the special objects such as children, women, people with mental illness, foreigners, etc.

- Application of science and technology equipment to take testimony, interrogations.

At the Conference, representatives of the International Criminal Court (ICC) reported the experience of using evidence which was the testimony in the investigation of international criminal cases. There were 50 presentations on the above mentioned topics presented by rapporteurs and experts of the UNODC, the ICC and the countries. The presentations confirmed that the process of taking testimony of the accused, victims, witnesses, etc. played very important role in establishing the evidence, serving of litigation in the court, especially in international criminal cases, cases related to children, women, people with mental illness.

President of the PPA visited the Police Professional Library 

at the University of Portsmouth (UK)

Attending the Conference, delegation of Vietnam exchanged experiences with experts of Norway, UK, Canada, Indonesian National Police, Taiwan Police and some other countries, researched the experiences in placing the surveillance cameras and video, audio recording equipment while taking testimony in criminal investigation.

The delegation visited and worked with the Institute of Criminal Justice, University of Portsmouth, UK - the top center of training and scientific research on Criminal Justice of the UK. The Institute has been training the experts of the PPA in Criminology and Criminal Investigation, organizing the training courses for leaders of Security General Deparment.

On the asignment in the UK, the President of the PPA visited and worked with the University of Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland; studied the model of Institute of Criminology and Criminal Justice, model of attaching the scientific research with training of the University of Queen's University Belfast

Under the permission of the Minister of Public Security, the President of the PPA visited the Federal Republic of Germany. The delegation of the PPA worked with Ambassador Doan Xuan Hung and police liaison officers of Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security in the Federal Republic of Germany. The delegation also studies the police training model of the German Police University in Munster.

The delegation visited the Ambassador of Vietnam in Germany Doan Xuan Hung

The IIIRG Conference was a useful scientific forum. In 2017, the IIIRG would continue to organize the 10th Conference in California, USA. The PPA and Department of Foreign Affairs of Ministry of Public Security would report to the Ministry for permission to continue attending. By studying the experience of the foreign countries, the PPA would pilot building the interrogation room, taking templates of testimony with cameras and video, audio  recording equiment to serve the training. The PPA would study the organizational model of scientific research institute in the training base for building a number of specialized research institutes in the project of developing the PPA to become the national key higher education.

In the coming time, Department of Foreign Affairs of Ministry of Public Security would coordinate with the PPA to organize the training course for taking testimony in the investigation supported by the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, expected to hold from October 17^th - 21^st, 2016 in the Central Vietnam.

Written by Nhat Nam

Translated by Cong Phuong