Slovenian and international police martial arts experts met at the Police Academy in Tacen near Ljubljana on 26 and 27 May 2022 for the first International conference on Martial Arts in policing convened by the Slovenian police.

Vlado Ilić from the Police powers Division at the General Police Directorate

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Experts from Croatian, Hungarian and Italian police academies attended the conference along with Slovenian experts in martial arts in policing – top competing athletes, top martial arts and combat sports coaches and court and other experts.

The conference participants were predominantly police employees working in this area (policing skills and self-defence instructors, members of the college of masters of the Slovenian police, police trainers for trainers, etc.).

Conference speakers and participants addressed the challenges in the field of education, advanced vocational training, and training for use of martial arts in policing, as well as the challenges police officers encounter when using martial arts elements in everyday work.

In terms of using physical force as means of coercion, it is highly essential for police and policing that officers are adequately skilled in the use of martial arts. The better the professional knowledge and skill officers possess in this field, more likely they are to perform police tasks lawfully, professionally and efficiently. Being adequately skilled also prevents the risk of physical injuries for persons in police procedures as well as the officers using physical force as means of coercion. This topic is therefore high on the agenda of Slovenian police.

The conference also addressed the effects of good knowledge and skill of martial arts on the outcome of complaint and other procedures against the police officers, who used elements of these sports as a means of coercion, and other relevant topics such as cooperation with the national martial arts federation. The conference also proved a valuable opportunity to exchange views and best practice examples in this field with colleagues from neighbouring countries.

Conference speakers included:

• Vlado Ilić from the Police powers Division at the General Police Directorate
• Marjan Fabjan, Judo coach, working at the Top Athlete Section of the Police Academy
• Benjamin Lah, top Ju-Jitsu competitor, police officer at the Security and Protection centre
• Marijan Jantolek from the Croatian Police Academy
• dr. Kovács Gyula Attila from a Hungarian School for police officers
• Aldo Luigi Nocera from the Italian Police
• Robert Perc, Head of the Operations and communications centre at Novo mesto police Directorate and President of Slovenian Ju-Jitsu federation
• dr. Srečko F. Krope, retired police officer and expert court witness in the field of martial arts an police powers

Exhibition on the history of martial arts in the Slovenian police

Exhibition on the history of martial arts in Slovenian police was shown on the sidelines of the meeting.

Practical demonstration of martial arts in policing

On 27 May, a practical demonstration of martial arts use in policing was presented to the participants and the media in the Police Academy gym in Tacen. Two police representatives from each country demonstrated how martial arts are used in their respective police organisations.

The practical demonstrations gave a direct and informative insight into the way different martial arts are used in practice by Slovenian, Croatian, Hungarian and Italian police officers.