OSCE trains police officers in Kyrgyzstan to address domestic violence
ISSYK-KUL, Kyrgyzstan, 22 November 2013 – Developing effective responses to domestic violence was the focus of an OSCE-supported series of training courses for Kyrgyz police officers that concluded today in the towns of Cholpon-Ata and Karakol in Issyk-Kul province in northern Kyrgyzstan.
The course started in June 2013 and included eight sessions held in Chuy, Issyk-Kul, Naryn and Talas regions. Some 200 neighbourhood police inspectors, juvenile delinquency inspectors and patrol officers attended the course.
The psychology of violence-prone individuals, legislative aspects of combating domestic violence and the process of victims rehabilitation were among the issues covered in the course.
“Combating and preventing domestic violence is an important component of the OSCE Centre’s activities on promoting community policing principles in Kyrgyzstan,” Victor Sotchi, the Head of Police Affairs of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, said. “International experts are ready to share best practices from their countries in this field, and the OSCE offers a platform for this interaction and co-operation.”
Lt. Colonel Aibek Azhybaev from the Public Safety Department of Kyrgyzstan's Interior Ministry who was one of the course instructors said: “Domestic violence incidents are common in the police practice. Psychological and tactical training is indispensable for raising the professionalism of law enforcement officers dealing with these cases on a daily basis.”
The training was conducted as a part of work of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek to promote neighbourhood policing principles within the Police Reform Programme. The principles establish the necessity for the local police to be “visible, assessable, knowledgeable and familiar to the community” and view policing as a responsive “problem-solving” tool designed to address issues on a local level.