OSCE donates mobile police reception units to enhance Kyrgyzstan’s community policing

BISHKEK, 8 July 2011 – Twelve minibuses equipped to act as mobile police reception units were donated today to Kyrgyzstan’s Interior Ministry under the Community Security Initiative, part of the OSCE’s police reform programme for the country.

The units will be used by local law enforcement departments in ten districts of Kyrgyzstan. The OSCE will provide fuel and technical support for the duration of the Community Security Initiative.

260 local police officers were trained in May to use the mobile reception units. The training was elaborated by the Interior Ministry with OSCE support, to improve their skills in working with the local communities. The vehicles will be used to carry out community policing tasks, particularly in neighbourhoods with low confidence in the police. They can also receive calls using the 3-digit number 162. A male and a female police officer will operate each unit in order to ensure higher confidence among citizens of both genders.

Ambassador Andrew Tesoriere, the Head of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, said at the donation ceremony: “The best result – the highest level of security – is achieved if people and police talk and work together. This is one of the main objectives of the Community Security Initiative, and the introduction of these mobile police reception units is an important step towards achieving this. The mobile reception units make the police more accessible to the public. The OSCE and the Ministry of Interior will be pleased to hear from the public on their experience and suggestions about these reception points.”

Kyrgyzstan’s Deputy Interior Minister, Baktybek Alymbekov, said: “This project of the Community Security Initiative will help us to move forward in our priority directions. Mobile police reception units will help police officers to move more quickly, to receive complaints and addresses from the citizens and to react promptly”.

The mobile police reception units aim to facilitate citizens’ access to the police and to rebuild public trust and confidence in police, one of the main goals of the Community Security Initiative.