OSCE Office in Baku organizes study tour for senior police officers

BAKU, 5 April 2007 - A group of high-level Interior Ministry officials completed today a six-day study tour to Germany to learn about best practices in public event management and crowd control.

The study trip, organized by the OSCE Office in Baku, is part of the Office's ongoing initiative aimed at providing Azerbaijani law-enforcement agencies with knowledge of the international principles for upholding freedom of assembly.

"This study trip helped the officers to establish good contacts with their German counterparts, and to study different aspects of operational policing and crowd control techniques," said Robin Seaword, the Deputy Head of the OSCE Office in Baku, who is accompanying the Azerbaijani police delegation.

"We hope it will be translated into improved policing practices and better understanding of the role of law enforcement agencies during demonstrations."

The visit not only offered the delegation the chance to see the training of specialist police, but also provided an insight into the selection process and an overview of all police training in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany. The delegation also observed the activities of the rapid reaction police during a demonstration in Luebeck.

General Zakir Hasanov, leading an Azerbaijani police delegation, took the opportunity to observe the technical equipment and tactics used in preserving order whilst ensuring the public's fundamental freedom to assemble.

"I have been very impressed with the meticulous preparation of the police and the high standard of their training for such events and hope to learn much about how this level of competency has been achieved," he said.

The Office, supported by the German Federal Government and with the technical support of the police of Schleswig-Holstein, has been providing training seminars for internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and for Baku police during the last two years.

The Office hopes to continue this form of police education and to include all security services responsible for upholding the public's right to assemble in safety.