OSCE, EU train Armenian police in public order management prior to elections

YEREVAN, 26 April 2012 – The OSCE and the EU concluded four weeks of strategic and tactical planning training for Armenian police today in Yerevan.

The training courses aimed to develop the capabilities of some 100 senior, middle and junior level Armenian police officials dealing with public order management. Topics included operational planning, effective command and control, negotiation techniques in line with international standards, threat and risk assessment, use of information and intelligence, legality, accountability and transparency, as well as relations with the media and communication methods.

"Maintaining public order throughout the whole electoral period and at the polling stations on election day is an important responsibility of the police that can impact on the conduct of electoral processes,” said Ambassador Andrey Sorokin, the Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan. “We believe that effective planning as well as proper negotiation between the police and any crowds is a key to ensuring safety and security, especially in the pre-election period”.

"Free and fair elections are an important pre-requisite for the development of EU-Armenia relations. The role of the police in the electoral process is essential in terms of ensuring transparency, as well as public confidence," said Traian Hristea, the Head of the EU Delegation to Armenia.

Fifty-five representatives of the Fourth Special Battalion troops of the Police Patrol Regiment who are directly involved in crowd management practised the techniques during the last week of the training.

The two recent guidebooks on police conduct, use of force and negotiation techniques in public order management developed with OSCE support last year were used during the training course.

The training is part of a 1.7 million euro project on strengthening electoral processes in Armenia in line with international standards, implemented by the OSCE Office in Yerevan and financed by the EU.