OSCE Office in Baku inaugurates new academic year and curriculum at police school

BAKU, 16 January 2008 - The OSCE Office in Baku and the Interior Ministry of Azerbaijan today celebrated the beginning of the new academic year and the launch of a new curriculum at the Baku Police School.

The new curriculum includes subjects such as community policing, human rights, communication, domestic violence and juvenile justice, and extends the period of basic police recruit training from three to six months. The OSCE Office in Baku and the Interior Ministry of the Czech Republic supported the Azerbaijani Interior Ministry in its development.

"This new curriculum will contribute to bringing Azerbaijan's police force closer to international democratic standards of policing, in particular with respect to the practical implementation of basic human rights. It will also further develop the police force as a true service to the community," said Ambassador Jose Luis Herrero, head of the OSCE Office in Baku.

Herrero as well as Azerbaijani Deputy Interior Minister Asker Alekperov and Helena Tomkova, Director of the Czech Interior Ministry's Department of Police Education, Training and Police College, took part in the opening.

The Czech Interior Ministry's Department of Police Education, Training and Colleges and the Azerbaijani Interior Ministry co-operated closely to develop the new curriculum. Teachers from the Azerbaijani Police School traveled to the Czech Republic for training sessions as part of the project.

The new curriculum meets all requirements and standards recommended by the OSCE Strategic Police Matters Unit.