OSCE Office organizes first community policing conference in Azerbaijan

BAKU, 10 June 2010 - The first international conference on community policing in Azerbaijan organized by the OSCE Office in Baku started today.

The two-day conference will improve and further strengthen the Azerbaijani police service capacities in the field of community policing. It will also give Azerbaijani police an opportunity to exchange experiences and best practices with international experts.

"The question of how the police deliver high quality services to the citizens is the heart of the community policing idea," said Ambassador Bilge Cankorel, the Head of the OSCE Office in Baku, in his opening speech. "Azerbaijan has recognized that improving communication and co-operation between the police and the public is of benefit for all parties involved. Amendments to the Law on Police, made by the Azerbaijani Parliament on 26 May 2009, will help to establish better co-operation and increase mutual trust between the police and the community."

During the conference, community policing guidelines based upon the Azerbaijani experiences gained from the OSCE pilot site will be presented. The OSCE Office in Baku facilitated the development of the guidelines.

The OSCE Office in Baku has been working closely on community policing since 2006, when it Ilaunched community policing activities with the establishment of a pilot project in Mingachevir city, further expanding the project to Shirvan.

Following consultation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the OSCE Office developed a project that facilitated the introduction of modern community policing practices in all ten project sites in Azerbaijan. A mobile training team from the Office delivered presentations on best practices in community policing, police-public relations, domestic violence intervention, anti-drug seminars and first-aid for neighbourhood police officers working in all project sites. In March 2010, the OSCE Office expanded its community policing project to include the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.

Since end-2009, the OSCE Office is also engaged in school policing activities to teach the latest community policing methods to police officers who work directly work with schools.