OSCE Mission supports development of community policing in Serbia

Sixty community policing officers from 27 regional police directorates from Serbia completed an OSCE-supported two-day training course on action planning in Vrnjacka Banja on 25 May 2012.

Robert Pazos, the OSCE Mission’s Community Policing Programme Manager said:“Community policing officers serve as an important link between the police and the people at the local level, building confidence and helping the law enforcement authorities to better serve the needs of the people.”

“Action plans are a useful tool these officers can apply in their daily operational work, in the co-ordination of activities with local community stakeholders, as well as in developing local safety action plans for 27 police districts - a project a part of which will be funded by the OSCE Mission.”

This training activity is part of the Mission’s continuous support to the empowerment of district community policing and the development of the police-public partnership concept, in order to enhance confidence building at the local level.

Strengthening community policing in Serbia has been a joint priority of the OSCE Mission to Serbia and the Interior Ministry since the start of the Mission’s activities in 2001.

“Through the support of such training courses, the Mission is contributing to the Interior Ministry’s efforts aimed at making municipalities safer for their residents,” Pazos added.