OSCE, Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau, Kyrgyz Interior Ministry join forces to combat organized crime

BISHKEK, 18 December 2014 - The OSCE Centre in Bishkek today completed a three-day training course for 40 police investigators on how to effectively conduct EU Serious Organized Crime Threat Assessments (SOCTA), investigations based on intelligence-led policing, and combatting drug trafficking and violent extremism.

The seminar was led by experts from the Lithuanian Criminal Police Bureau in partnership with the Organized Crime Department of Kyrgyzstan’s Interior Ministry.

“Organized crime remains a problem in Kyrgyzstan, it presents a serious risk to national security and negatively affects the economic and social status,” said Ambassador Sergey Kapinos, Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek. “We stand ready to support the Government’s efforts to establish a functional and efficient mechanism for co-operation among all relevant agencies and in line with the national security priorities of the country.”

Lithuanian Police expert Algirdas Matonis, said: “It is crucial nowadays to create conditions for enhancing the capacity of law enforcement officials in addressing the fight against organized crime with modern techniques, such as intelligence-led policing. The SOCTA methodology presented at this training course is designed to assist strategic decision-makers in the prioritising organized crime threats.”

The OSCE Centre in Bishkek is co-operating with the Lithuanian Bureau of Criminal Police under an OSCE Project on combatting organized crime and serious crimes. The comprehensive on-the-job training seminars are developed according to a needs assessment and research conducted by Lithuanian police experts in Kyrgyzstan this year.