OSCE Mission to Serbia supports community policing training
Some 50 police officers from 27 regional police directorates will be trained in community policing principles during a two- week course for Community Liaison Officers, in Vrnjacka Banja from 26 September to 7 October 2011. The OSCE Mission to Serbia is holding the event together with the Interior Ministry.
The Community Liaison Officers serve as a link between the police and the citizens on the local level, building confidence and directing the police to serve the needs of the public.
They will learn about crime prevention, confidence building, conflict resolution and mediation, as well as policing in multi-ethnic environments. The training course is also designed to support the implementation of the National Community Policing Strategy, which is being finalized ahead of its expected adoption by the Serbian Government.
“This type of police-public partnership is the core philosophy and methodology used by modern police services internationally in preventing and resolving crimes,” said the OSCE Mission to Serbia's Community Policing Programme Manager, Robert Pazos.
“Once the Community Liaison Officers become fully operational and recognized in their local communities as focal points for addressing community concerns, citizens will be able to interact with them with greater frequency. The police for their part will benefit from the support of the community when implementing crime prevention-related activities.”
Strengthening community policing in Serbia has been a joint priority of the OSCE Mission and the Interior Ministry since the start of the Mission. Through the support of such training, the Mission is contributing to the Interior Ministry’s efforts to make municipalities safer for residents.