OSCE Annual Police Experts Meeting discusses enhancing policing activities, calls for better co-ordination

VIENNA, 21 May 2010 - Policing experts from the OSCE region discussed further enhancing police-related activities and co-operating with international and regional organizations to address transnational threats at the two-day Annual Police Experts Meeting which ends in Vienna today.

The meeting organized by the OSCE Strategic Police Matters Unit (SPMU) focused on an OSCE Secretary General report on police-related activities undertaken from 1998 to 2009. Participants discussed the OSCE's further contribution to international efforts to respond to transnational threats, including terrorism financing, illicit drug trafficking and trafficking in human beings, as well as the importance of close consultation and co-ordination among international, regional organizations and other actors providing international policing assistance.

"In view of scarce financial and personnel resources, co-operation between international players is crucial, as it helps build synergies, delegate and divide tasks, avoid duplications and incompatible equipment donations, and as a result can prevent confusion and frustration among beneficiaries, including state agencies and civil society," said Kevin Carty, the Senior Police Adviser to the OSCE Secretary General.

An OSCE guide on building trust and understanding between police and Roma and Sinti was launched at a press conference on the margins of the Annual Police Experts Meeting. The book was presented with the participation of Andrzej Mirga, ODIHR's Senior Advisor for Roma and Sinti Issues, and Roma police officers from the UK and Hungary who shared their professional and personal experiences with media.

The comprehensive publication created by the SPMU in co-operation with ODIHR provides background information, assesses policing mechanisms and practice in relation to Roma and Sinti, relevant legislation, human resources and training matters, and describes good practices on improving the policing of Roma and Sinti communities. The book, which is expected to be used for developing curricula for police academies, is the ninth volume in the SPMU publication series on policing good practices.