The International Academy at Bramshill hosted the third Senior Investigating Officers' Course from 5 - 16 January 2009 for nine senior police officers from Saudi Arabia. The police officers included 4 Brigadiers, 2 Colonels and 2 Lt. Colonels. During their first morning at Bramshill they encountered snow, for most of them for the first time. The officers enjoyed taking advantage of the photographic opportunity.

During the two week course they visited London and the Custody Suite at Basingstoke Police Station. The course covered crime scene assessment, management and protection, investigative theory, forensic awareness and interview strategy.  The aim of the course is to expose officers to British methods of investigating senior crimes, not by inferring that these are the best ways, but by encouraging them to discuss between themselves how to integrate them into their existing methods.

By the end of the course it is hoped that the officers would be able to maximise their investigating opportunities both in theory and using practical examples.

The delegates were accompanied by a police officer acting as interpreter, but during the course of two weeks many of the delegates were willing to show their language skills. Although all from the same country, most of the delegates had never met each other before so it is very encouraging that the International Academy can be the catalyst for interaction between people based many hundreds of miles apart.

At the final dinner, held on the penultimate evening of the course, they were joined by Kurt Eyre, Interim Head of Site for Bramshill, two representatives from the Saudi Arabian Embassy and the Head of Saudi Arabian Airlines.