OSCE Police Academies Network launched to strengthen police training and co-operation

To promote and support international police training and co-operation, the OSCE Police Academies Network (PAN) was established in Vienna on 29 June 2018 as an outcome of a project developed by the Strategic Police Matters Unit at the Transnational Threats Department.

The Network will launch an online platform that offers a complete overview of education and training sources, thus facilitating the exchange and mutual use of existing resources, including curricula, modules, training material and expertise within law enforcement training institutions in the OSCE area.

“In times when law enforcement is expected to address a range of new and increasingly complex security challenges - with less resources - the OSCE Police Academies Network can enhance co-operation and encourage the use of each other’s mutual resources and good practices,” said Ambassador Paul Bekkers, Director of the Office of the OSCE Secretary General, as he addressed representatives of OSCE participating States, international organizations and OSCE executive at the launch event in Vienna.

Col. Roberto Magni of the Permanent Delegation of Italy to the OSCE and representing Italy’s 2018 OSCE Chairmanship, said: “The Chairmanship promotes the idea of co-operation and exchange of best practices between and among the police training institutions of participating States and the development of training strategies and modern teaching and education methods.”

The pilot phase of the project started in early 2017. The online platform was made available to a limited number of law enforcement education and training institutions in the OSCE participating States hosting field operations as well as the Armenian Police Educational Complex and the Institute of Police Education at Linnaeus University in Sweden. During this phase it was also made accessible to also aimed at strengthening links between the OSCE and partner organizations and networks, such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC)’s LE TrainNet, the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Training (CEPOL) and the Association of European Police Colleges (AEPC), with the aim of strengthening links between the OSCE and partner organizations and networks.