The European law enforcement agency, Europol, has announced the winners of its 2011 Law Enforcement Photo Competition. The first prize has been awarded to Rafael Corral Estacio for an image of a Spanish Guardia Civil Officer on duty which, according to Europol, really captures the daily challenges that nature throws at police work.

Europol, the European law enforcement agency has announced the results of its 2011 photo competition. Rafael Corral Estacio won the first prize for an image of a Spanish Guardia Civil Officer on duty which according to Europol, really captures the daily challenges that nature throws at police work.

The second prize has been for Mark Condren of Ireland with his photo of Dublin's Guarda Police dive team in action, searching the River Liffey for discarded weapons and other evidence and the third prize has awarded to Stéphanie Adzou Colongo of France, who photographed a forensic expert analysing fingerprint evidence. In addition, a special commendation was for another of Mark Condren's images, depicting a police sergeant on the beat with his small grandson in County Cork, Ireland.

The 2011 Law Enforcement Photo Competition attracted more entries than ever, with submissions coming from all over the European Union and beyond. Europol highlights that the quality entries portray the highs and lows of law enforcement work, across the spectrum of services including police, border and customs guards, SWAT teams, Gendarmerie and more.