OSCE promotes police reform process in Armenia

YEREVAN, 19 November 2014 – Reforming the police as a way to enhance criminal justice is the focus of a new guidebook published by the OSCE and presented today to the staff and students of the Armenian Police Educational Complex.

The guidebook provides some concrete examples of practical measures on how to improve collaboration in the area of police reform by various institutions of the criminal justice system, relevant governmental agencies as well as non-governmental security and justice providers and civil society.

The publication was also presented at the Parliamentary Hearings on the topic of accountability and transparency of police activities, co-organized by the Office in Yerevan yesterday. It was also introduced to the police leadership and reform policy-makers in the Police Headquarters the same day.

"Reforms in one sector of the criminal justice system should be synchronized with reforms in other sectors to improve the entire criminal justice process and increase access to security and justice for all," said Ambassador Andrey Sorokin, Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan. "This guidebook will be an added value for the Armenian police, which is currently undergoing a significant process of reform."

In addition to these activities, training courses on prevention of domestic violence and youth crime and on crime scene examination are organized by the Office jointly with the Geneva Centre for Democratic Control of the Armed Forces in the course of this week. 

The guidebook has been translated into Armenian by the OSCE Office in Yerevan with the aim of making it accessible to all major key players involved in the country’s police reform process.