OSCE and Tajikistan’s Interior Ministry bring police and community together to discuss the implementation of the Police Reform Strategy

Towards the implementation of police reform and community policing, between the 28 March and 12 April the  OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe joined with Tajikistan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) in  a series of one-day meetings with heads of MIA departments and members of Public Councils on Police Reform (PC), throughout the the Khatlon region of Tajikistan.  

The meetings discussed the approaches being taken in the framework of police reform, especially in deepening police and community co-operation, as well as to exchange views and increase the knowledge of police and members of PCs on the role of community policing, of ways to improve effective police-community relations, and in countering radicalization and extremism among youth.   

Some 2,100 participants, including heads of MIA departments, members of regional and district PCs, and representatives of civil society, of which 377 were female participants, took part.

Speaking at the meetings OSCE’s National Coordinator for Police Reform, Colonel Hamdamzoda Valikhon Hamdam, emphasized the key aspects of police reform, saying that: “Police reform aims at strengthening police interaction with local communities, increasing the effectiveness of police work in the regions, accessibility of law enforcement’s assistance for the population, preventing crime, and building trust between the public and the police.   

OSCEProgramme Office in Dushanbe will continue to significantly contribute support the Ministry of Internal Affairs in implementing the Police Reform Strategy and promoting the concept of community policing throughout Tajikistan.