The International Police Association (ipa)

The IPA is the largest police organization in the world. It was founded in England in 1950 and has since spread all over the world.

Today the IPA has National Sections in 60 countries, from Argentina to Zimbabwe, with a total membership well in excess of a quarter of a million. Germany, with more than 56,000 and Austria, with more than 32,000 members, are the largest IPA sections.

The IPA was founded by police sergeant Arthur Troop of the Lincolnshire Constabu­lary. He wanted to create an association for friendship and international cooperation among police officers, an association which focused on the development of social, cul­tural and professional links among its members. The basis of the IPA is the fact that there is no discrimination of colour, language, rank, race, religion or sex. From very small beginnings, the IPA grew rapidly and supported the formation of new sections all over the world. With the political changes in Eastern Europe in the 1990s, many IPA sections from Western Europe have taken over the task of actively support­ing the development of new national sections, thus developing new contacts and new friendships.

Esperanto was chosen for the IPA's motto 'Servo per amikeco' (='Service through friendship') to underline the truly international character of the organization. The IPA is open to every serving or retired police officer irrespective of rank, sex, race, colour, language or religion. The IPA seeks to:

• cultivate friendly relations and mutual assistance between members at home and abroad;

• develop cultural relations among members and broaden their knowledge;

• encourage the exchange of police-related experiences to contribute to a mutual un­derstanding of professional problems;

• endeavour to enhance the image of the police service and to improve relations be­tween citizens and the police;

• provide a better understanding among people to secure peace in the world.

The IPA’s pursuits include:

• establishing contacts with members in other countries for information or even host­ing;

• hobby groups for members to share their interests;

• friendship weeks, sports events and anniversary celebrations;

• international youth exchanges for sons and daughters of members;

• international youth gatherings;

• professional study exchanges and travel scholarships.

IPA members and their families can spend their holidays in IPA houses which exist in many sections.