INTRODUCTION

PREFACE

The first formal meeting of the Chiefs of ASEAN Police was held in Manila, Philippines on the 21 to 23 October 1981.

• To discuss matters of law enforcement and crime control.
• This annual meeting was called ASEANAPOL Conference.  
• The basic requirement for a country to become a member of ASEANAPOL is that the country shall first be a member of ASEAN and the application shall be tabled at the conference for approval.
• The members of ASEANAPOL were originally Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.
• 1984, Royal Brunei Police joined the conference for the 1^st time.
• 1996, The Republic of Vietnam National Police joined the conference
• 1998, Laos General Department of Police and Myanmar police force joined the conference
• 2000, Cambodia National Police joined the conference
• The current members of ASEANAPOL are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao People Democratic Republic,  Malaysia,  Myanmar, The Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The 25^th Joint Communique signed by the ASEAN Chiefs of Police during the 25^th ASEANAPOL Conference held in Bali, Indonesia, expressly stated the need to  establish a Permanent ASEANAPOL Secretariat.

 Objectives of the establishment of a Permanent Secretariat

• To harmonise and standardise coordination and communication mechanisms amongst ASEAN police institutions;
• To conduct a comprehensive and integrative study concerning the resolutions agreed in the ASEANAPOL Joint Communiqués
• To establish a mechanism with responsibility to monitor and follow up the implementation of resolutions in the Joint Communiqués; and
• To transform the resolutions adopted in the Joint Communiqués into ASEANAPOL Plan of Action and its work program

The working group which was set up to consider the viability of the permanent ASEANAPOL Secretariat finalised that:                                                               

• During the 29^th ASEANAPOL Conference in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2009, the Terms of Reference on the establishment of ASEANAPOL Secretariat was endorsed.  Kuala Lumpur was made the permanent seat for the Secretariat.
• The ASEANAPOL Secretariat was fully operational from the 1^st January 2010.