In July, the Ethiopian Police University formally inaugurated its new Crime Scene Examination Training Centre dedicated to trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling, marking a key step in enhancing regional investigative capacity.
Published on Oct 14,2025 at 1:56 PM | Updated on Feb 26,2026 at 11:57 AM

On 10 July 2025, the Ethiopian Police University (EPU) officially inaugurated the Crime Scene Examination (CSE) Training Centre on Trafficking in Persons (TiP) and Smuggling of Migrants (SoM) at its main campus in Sendafa, Ethiopia. The facility was established through a partnership between the EPU, the Better Migration Management (BMM) Programme, funded by the European Union (EU) and Germany, and the Technical Assistance Unit (TAU) – Support to Criminal Justice Reform in Ethiopia Project, funded by the EU.

The initiative reflects ongoing cooperation between national and international partners to strengthen Ethiopia’s institutional framework for addressing human trafficking and migrant smuggling. The inauguration ceremony included a ribbon-cutting, a tour of the new facilities, and demonstrations conducted by EPU trainers who had previously participated in the BMM Training of Trainers (ToT) sessions. The event concluded with the official handover of the TiP/SoM Crime Scene Management and Examination Curriculum.

The centre’s establishment is part of broader efforts to enhance Ethiopia’s capacity for specialised crime scene management and to incorporate standardised training on trafficking and smuggling into the national police education system.

 


Background and Institutional Framework

The development of the CSE Training Centre builds on work initiated under the Better Migration Management (BMM) Programme, which has supported Ethiopian law enforcement and justice institutions since 2019. CIVIPOL, one of the programme’s implementing partners, played a key role in the design and national rollout of Ethiopia’s first Training Curriculum on Investigating Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of Migrants. The curriculum was officially validated and endorsed by the Ethiopian Police University in 2021. In 2022, the Ethiopian Federal Police Commission endorsed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) on TiP/SoM Crime Scene Management, providing structured guidance for field operations. Together, these documents form the core reference materials for the new centre’s training methodology.

The new facility consists of a main training building equipped with classrooms and CCTV-covered reconstructed crime scene rooms, a refurbished laboratory for hands-on forensic training, and an outdoor training area designed to simulate real-world crime scenes. These components are intended to support a practical, scenario-based learning approach for police officers and other law enforcement professionals. The Ethiopian Police University, located approximately 38 kilometres north of Addis Ababa, has evolved from a national police college into a higher education institution offering diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in law enforcement, criminal investigation and forensic sciences. The university serves as a central institution for police training and professional development in Ethiopia.

 

The Better Migration Management (BMM) Programme

The Better Migration Management (BMM) Programme is an initiative funded by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). It is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and co-implemented by the British Council, CIVIPOL, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The overall objective of the BMM Programme is to improve the human rights-based management of safe, orderly and regular migration in the Horn of Africa and to support national authorities in addressing human trafficking and migrant smuggling. Its activities focus on enabling national institutions to facilitate regular migration processes, strengthen the investigation and prosecution of trafficking-related crimes, and enhance protection for victims of trafficking and vulnerable migrants.

BMM operates through three interconnected pillars. The first focuses on migration governance, which aims to establish a political and legal basis for harmonised migration management across the region. The second emphasises effective institutions, supporting capacity building among national authorities to identify, investigate and prosecute cases of human trafficking and migrant smuggling. The third centres on protection, with an emphasis on ensuring that victims of trafficking and vulnerable migrants have access to justice and assistance through improved referral systems.

Within its third phase (BMM III), CIVIPOL has been supporting Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya and Uganda in enhancing the quality and comprehensiveness of investigations into trafficking and smuggling cases. It also assists these countries in improving inter-agency cooperation through the establishment of Multi-Agency Task Forces and the implementation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for investigation and prosecution. Another key component of CIVIPOL’s work is the development of simulation-based training modules, which bring together law enforcement officers, labour inspectors and social service providers to handle mock TiP and SoM cases in realistic settings. These exercises aim to strengthen coordination between different agencies and improve the referral of victims to protection services.

The CSE Training Centre at the Ethiopian Police University integrates these approaches into a national framework, enabling sustained training delivery within Ethiopia’s own police education system. The curriculum and materials developed through BMM will continue to serve as a reference point for future training at both the national and regional levels.

 


Regional Cooperation and Future Perspectives

The establishment of the CSE Training Centre also contributes to regional cooperation efforts across the Horn of Africa. One of the initiative’s objectives is to lay the foundation for a Regional Training Centre of Excellence that would provide training for law enforcement officers from neighbouring countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Djibouti, Somalia, South Sudan and Somaliland. This aligns with the BMM Programme’s broader goal of promoting collaboration between countries of origin, transit and destination in addressing human trafficking and migrant smuggling.

By offering standardised training modules and promoting cross-border exchange, the centre aims to contribute to the development of common investigative standards and procedures across the region. The facility’s structure allows for the inclusion of multi-agency participants, reflecting the understanding that the effective management of trafficking and smuggling cases requires cooperation between police, border authorities, prosecutors and social service providers.

The inauguration of the Crime Scene Examination Training Centre marks an additional step in formalising the professional training infrastructure available to Ethiopian and regional law enforcement institutions. It consolidates previous project-based activities into a permanent, institutionally anchored framework and ensures continuity of capacity building within Ethiopia’s national system.

Through the combined efforts of the Ethiopian Police University, the BMM Programme, the Technical Assistance Unit and CIVIPOL, the new facility is expected to serve as a long-term platform for improving investigative techniques, supporting human rights-based policing, and enhancing cooperation on migration-related crime across the Horn of Africa.

 

To read more news, click here.