OSCE Centre supports communication course for police neighborhood inspectors in northern Kyrgyzstan

BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, 1 June 2010 - The first of 14 communication training seminars organized by the OSCE Office in Bishkek for neighborhood inspectors started today in Bishkek.

During the one-day seminars, to be conducted in Bishkek and in the town of Kant in the northern Chui province, some 350 community police officers from the Chui province will improve their communication and presentation skills in dealing with the general public. The OSCE Centre in Bishkek is organizing the seminars together with the non-governmental organization HelpAge International and the Interior Ministry.

In community policing, supported by the OSCE, police officers work closely together with the communities they serve.

"Communication is a prerequisite for building the trust that community policing requires," said Evgeny Cherenkov, the Police Reform Adviser at the OSCE Centre in Bishkek. "These training sessions will help police officers improve their dialogue with the community, which will enable them to better shape crime prevention work."

Melis Abdrahmanov, Deputy Head of the Interior Ministry's Department for Public Safety in the Sverdlov district, added:

"Community policing principles are embedded in Kyrgyz police methodology. These seminars are part of co-operation with the OSCE to implement best international practice in the work of our police."