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Sharing digital forensics skills and experience is a key part of the 30-year-old law enforcement partnership.
Last month, Australia’s ambassador to Thailand, Dr Angela Macdonald PSM, joined senior members of the Royal Thai Police (RTP) and Australian Federal Police (AFP) to open the Australia Room at the Royal Thai Police Forensic Facility.
The Australia Room, with the support of the Mekong-Australia Partnership, will serve as a forensics training hub for police scientists from Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Macdonald was joined by AFP chief scientist Dr Simon Walsh and RTP forensic commissioner General Trairong Piwpan for the opening.
The Australia Room is the latest plank in a 30-year history of traditional and digital forensics partnership between Thailand and Australia.
“The AFP has been working with their scientific colleagues in Thailand for more than 30 years,” Macdonald said in a statement last week.
“Australian experts get a lot from our regional partners’ experiences. Insights, knowledge and inspiration – some of their most innovative solutions for forensic challenges in Australia have been influenced by observing how our international colleagues apply unique treatments to issues that occur in their countries.”
AFP Assistant Commissioner David McLean said digital forensics skills were in demand across the region.
“Our international partners have made it clear these specialist forensic and digital forensic skills are crucial in the fight against the organised crime groups which operate in the region and target Australia,” McLean said.
“Not only do they grow opium for heroin and manufacture methamphetamine, but they are also heavily involved in human trafficking and cyber scams from the many scam centres just outside of Thailand. Enhancing skills in forensics is another step we’re working with regional partners to protect our respective communities.”
McLean also reinforced that the AFP has much to learn from its Thai colleagues.
“Drug profiling work by our Thai colleagues gives us vital intelligence to ultimately disrupt drug trafficking through Thailand,” McLean said.
“This results in drugs being seized in Thailand and surrounding countries before they even reach Australia, and the subsequent prosecution of drug traffickers.”
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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