OSCE presented results of public survey and concept of reformed community police in Armenia

On 20 February, the OSCE’s Transnational Threats Department presented the concept of the reformed community policing and the results of the Public Survey on Perceptions of the Police and Police Reforms in Yerevan, Armenia. The high-level meeting was attended by the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs, and the Chairman of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Defense and Security.

The Concept Paper and the Action Plan on Community Policing, developed by the OSCE in close co-operation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Armenia are aimed at presenting the vision, purpose, priorities and policy directions for improving community policing within the broader police reforms underway in the country.

In his remarks, the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Vahe Ghazaryan emphasized the importance of building the Community Police as a specialized structure to redefine the service and increase public trust.

The results of the Public Survey on Perceptions of the Police and Police Reforms in Armenia, commissioned by the OSCE to R-Insights Research Company, were also presented during the event. The findings provided insights into the public perception of the main internal safety and security threats, public trust and attitudes towards the police, perceptions and level of satisfaction with the performance of the Police in tackling certain internal security issues, public attitudes towards the ongoing police reform efforts, as well as the opinions on the engagement of women in the police.

In her speech, the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Arpine Sargsyan underlined the importance of ensuring inclusiveness and transparency in the course of the reforms.

Both the Concept Paper and the Action Plan on Community Policing and the Public Survey on Perceptions of the Police and Police Reforms in the Republic of Armenia were developed within the framework of the project "Accountable Institutions and Human Rights Protection in Armenia" funded by the European Union, and implemented jointly with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children's Fund, and the United Nations Population Fund.