OSCE Centre and Kyrgyz Interior Ministry organize training for high-level police managers on community policing

BISHKEK, 16 June 2006 - A three-day training course on community policing for high and middle level managers of the Kyrgyz Interior Ministry ended today in Bishkek.

The event, which was organized by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek and the Police Academy in Bishkek, mainly aimed at raising awareness of police managers about community policing principles and the role of managers in working with so-called 'Neighborhood Inspectors' on implementing community policing methods.

"Implementing these principles as a mechanism to develop new relationships between the police and the population is of key importance," said Temirkan Subanov, Kyrgyzstan's Deputy Interior Minister. "Equally important is the training of police managers on community policing methods and the specifics of their work with Neighborhood Inspectors."

Ambassasdor Markus Muller, Head of the OSCE Centre, said: "The real progress in police reform will always depend on the participation of the community in the organization of their security."

The course included briefings by international and local policing experts on issues such as human rights, policing in democratic societies and problem solving in community policing.

The training participants included Deputy Minister Temirkan Subanov, the Chief of the Bishkek Police Directorate, Moldomusa Kongantiev, all the Chiefs and Deputy Chiefs of the District Police Stations and sub-Stations in Bishkek, and other interested police officers.

It is planned to hold a series of similar training courses with 67 trainees representing the total command level of Kyrgyzstan's Interior Ministry.