OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje

The Mission to Skopje's Police Development Department supports the Government in implementing its National Police Reform Strategy, which aims to bring policing in the country closer to international standards. Police reform reached a milestone in October 2006 with the adoption of the Law on Police, which has allowed the Ministry of Interior to undertake important steps in the reform process.

Police training

The Mission works closely with the Ministry of Interior on police training issues, providing advice on curricula development, as well as assistance in the delivery of a variety of training and courses to police officers and to the border police. Particular attention is devoted to training the trainers with a view to boosting local capacity and sustainability.

The courses facilitated by the Mission include advanced and specialized training sessions in human rights, the code of police ethics, democratic policing, investigative techniques, road safety, community policing, media relations, and management training for mid-ranking and senior officials from various units of the Ministry of Interior.

Additionally, in line with the country's security priority of fighting organized crime, specialized courses are organized for the border police on anti-trafficking, organized crime, drugs and identification of forged documents.

Community policing

Community policing is one area that enables police to improve their skills and builds confidence between citizens and police. The Mission has assisted the Ministry of Interior with training and expert advice since 2001.

An innovative tool called the Citizen Advisory Group (CAG), which was introduced in 2002, provides a long-term forum bringing citizens, police and municipal structures together to discuss common issues. These meetings have not only improved communication and co-operation between citizens and police, but have also resulted in greater trust, confidence and stability.

Further to the Ministry's decision in 2004 to extend implementation of its Community Policing Programme nationwide, the Mission devoted particular attention to facilitating CAGs and community policing-related activities, with the result that to date there are 130 CAGs across the country.

The Mission also contributes to improving relations and co-operation between the law enforcement authorities, the municipalities and citizens by facilitating and supporting a variety of workshops addressing community safety issues such as road safety, juvenile delinquency, crime and drug prevention.

The Mission organizes workshops nationwide in support of the country's drug prevention strategy. Together with the Ministry of the Interior, it also co-ordinates local efforts to combat youth drug addiction. The main goals of these activities are to raise the awareness of local police, the administration, civil society activists, educators and parents about their roles in the community, and to promote further implementation of drug prevention activities.

With the support of the Ministry of Interior, the Mission also organizes recreational events aimed at reducing juvenile delinquency in schools, particularly in multi-ethnic areas, and at raising youngsters' awareness of road safety. Through bringing together children, parents, police officers and school principals, these activities have not only contributed to building confidence between the police and youth, but they have also encouraged local communities and schools to develop and launch similar projects on their own.

The Mission carries out various activities in line with the Decade of Roma Inclusion (2005-15) and the OSCE Action Plan on Roma and Sinti, particularly where these minority groups represent a significant percentage of the population. It sets up thematic CAGs to establish co-operation between police, municipalities, non-governmental organizations, government representatives and citizens.

The Mission has also trained a pool of community policing trainers to provide a sustainable in-service training resource, which the Government considers an invaluable tool for police reform.

Other projects and activities

The Mission has also provided equipment to the National Police Academy and other Ministry departments through donations.