Training police to combat human trafficking in Moldova

This surprise was just one of many that confronted Moldovan police during an interactive training course on investigating human trafficking cases offered by the OSCE Mission to Moldova. Expertise and support was provided by the OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje and the Secretariat's Strategic Police Matters Unit.

Innovative approach

Hubert Staberhofer and Phillip 'Josh' Court, OSCE law enforcement trainers from Skopje, adopted an interactive approach in teaching police how to investigate human trafficking: everyone (including OSCE representatives) took part in the training, which was based on a hypothetical investigation that developed in real time, with the trainers serving as facilitators during the process. No talking heads, no lectures and no note-taking - just a two-week field exercise requiring creativity and imagination.

Cases of human trafficking in Moldova (and many other countries) are often only investigated when a trafficking victim has been repatriated. This, however, is insufficient because only a small percentage of trafficking victims are discovered and repatriated.

Moreover, cases that rely solely or heavily on the testimony of the trafficking victims can place them at even greater risk. It is therefore essential that law enforcement and prosecutors develop techniques to bring the perpetrators to justice, while at the same time providing full protection for the victims. This can mean that a case has to be tried without testimony from the victim, which is usually more difficult.

Single piece of evidence

On the first day of the training, the police officers were given a single piece of information based on an anonymous complaint of human trafficking. From this one piece of evidence - with no trafficking victim to question - the challenge they faced was to develop a criminal case that could be prosecuted in the domestic courts without relying on victim testimony. The police had to rely solely on their own skills, knowledge, resources and equipment, operating within the existing legal framework.

During the training, the officers formed two groups: police and criminals. The former group was in charge of the investigation, including conducting any necessary surveillance and undercover operations to track the 'criminals', while the latter attempted to hinder it. This approach allowed the officers to see the case from opposing sides.

The investigation developed organically, with each day's activities flowing from what had happened previously. One officer observed that they never knew what was going to happen next - and neither did the programme planners.

The activities included field exercises, surveillance, an apartment search, and interrogations, with a debriefing session following each activity. Lunch breaks were spent in discussions, in order to enhance the flow of creative ideas and the learning process.

Praise for the training

The eighteen Moldovan police officers and two representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who came from the capital Chisinau and ten outlying regions to take part were full of praise for the training.

Summing up what he had learned, one officer commented: "There is no single model suited to every situation. For each one, we had to find the optimum solution. You did not tell us what to do; we came up with the solutions ourselves."

Another noted the advantages of the interactive approach: "We were allowed to make mistakes, but we were also in a position to recognize and correct them ourselves during each debriefing and the subsequent exercises."

Enthusiastic participation

The success of the training was evident from the active participation and enthusiasm of the police officers. The undercover field operation took place when the temperature was -13° C, the coldest day of the year in Chisinau. Yet everyone showed up on time with all the equipment prepared, and most of the day was spent outside in the bitter cold.

The training also embodied the principle of learning by doing. One officer explained: "My first impression was that you had underestimated us. We know all this, we thought. It all looked so easy - until we actually had to do it."

Another added: "The field exercises were unique experiences. Everything I learned is deeply imprinted in my mind."

One of the NGO participants said that as a result of the training, she now has more trust in the police and a better understanding of their language, while for their part, the police also better understand the expertise and role of NGOs in combating human trafficking.

Significantly, since the training, NGOs providing social services and protection to trafficking victims have received referrals from participating police officers.