Policing

Official ceremony of taking oath and the launch of the new police patrol service in Kyiv.

(OSCE/Tetiana Medun) Photo details

Exploiting new technologies and means of communication, international criminal networks are increasingly interconnected and dynamic and adapt well to new circumstances, challenges and opportunities. The OSCE addresses these transnational threats through a comprehensive strategy focused on building modern, democratic and pro-active police services that are able to respond to the ever evolving transnational threats.

The OSCE’s police-related activities are an integral part of the Organization’s efforts in conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation.

Within the OSCE Secretariat, the Transnational Threats Department’s Strategic Police Matters Unit (SPMU) is the focal point for the OSCE’s police-related work which is divided into two main categories:

Police development and reform within the principles of democratic policing, a special focus on community policing and police-public partnership, training initiatives, and promoting the protection of victims and vulnerable persons;
Building capacities of law enforcement agencies of OSCE participating States and Partners for Co-operation to be able to effectively counter transnational organized crime, terrorism, trafficking in illicit drugs, trafficking in human beings and cybercrime.

The OSCE works with police agencies across the OSCE region. The SPMU maintains a network of police advisers in field operations and provides expert advice and assistance to participating States to help develop accountable police services that serve and protect their citizens. Most OSCE field operations run programmes on police reform and development, which include:

Building capacities of the law enforcement to address transnational threats;
Developing and organizing sustainable police education programmes;
Organizing leadership and management training for law enforcement and government officials, judges and prosecutors;
Strengthening investigative and analytical skills;
Enhancing competencies in conducting financial investigations, in addressing money laundering and in seizing criminal assets;
Developing community policing initiatives and police-public partnership;
Addressing domestic violence;
Assisting in strategic planning and threat assessments;
Supporting information exchange amongst border officials;
Facilitating information sharing and the exchange of best practices;
Analysing and assessing lessons learned to develop guidance;
Advising on legislation reform and institution-building;
Promoting intelligence-led policing;
Monitoring police work for compliance with international human rights standards; and
Supporting regional and international police co-operation.

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OSCE in Action

Information and activities on Policing from across the Organization.

Institutions and Structures

OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities

Policing in multi-ethnic societies

Interactions between police officers and national minorities can help or hinder inter-community relations. Police need to be responsive to the concerns and wishes of all ethnic communities to guarantee a free and peaceful diverse society. The High Commissioner offers expertise on how police can deal sensitively with tense situations, encouraging authorities to include a minority aspect in law-enforcement structures and ensuring that police forces have the capacity to build lasting partnerships, based on trust, with all ethnic communities. This can require structural reform or targeted recruitment, training and professional support, constructive engagement with ethnic communities within community policing frameworks, operational practices, and building capacity for the prevention and management of conflict.

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OSCE Secretariat

Policing

The Organization has worked with police forces across its region for many years. It maintains a network of police advisers in several of its field operations and provides assessments, expert advice, and assistance to participating States to help them develop accountable policing services that protect and aid their citizens.

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Field Operations

OSCE Mission to Montenegro

To help develop a professional, democratic police service that is trusted by citizens and can investigate corruption and organized crime effectively, the Mission works with the Interior Ministry and law enforcement agencies on police reform and in devising sustainable police education curricula. It provides specialized training in such areas as crime and cybercrime investigation, covert surveillance, irregular migration and gender-sensitive policing and helps develop action plans to prevent and combat terrorism. The Mission supports regional police co-operation, particularly in contacts between criminal intelligence units. It also hosts meetings with Montenegro and its neighbours to strengthen border security and combat cross-border crime through joint patrols and joint border crossing points.

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OSCE Mission to Serbia

The Mission runs a variety of programmes to assist Serbia in its police reform process and support its national strategies and priorities. These include fighting organized crime, particularly economic crime and corruption, drug trafficking, and harm reduction related to substance abuse. The Mission also helps the police introduce international standards, thereby improving its professionalism, and provides advice and assistance to the authorities to introduce sustainable quality standards in the training curricula. To increase mutual trust and confidence in the police service, the Mission helps develop community policing principles and works on strengthening the partnership between the police and the public.

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OSCE Mission to Skopje

The Mission helps the host country develop a community-oriented police service in line with democratic principles and international human rights standards. This includes the furthering of police reform and assistance with the professionalization of the police. It offers customized training courses for police officials on issues such as the fight against organized crime and terrorism, preventive policing and how to deal with inter-ethnic problems. The Mission also supports the country’s police training centre and helps strengthen the relationship between the police and the media.

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OSCE Presence in Albania

To strengthen professionalism and introduce international standards, the Presence organizes leadership and management training for police officials, staff at the Interior Ministry’s Internal Control Service, and the border and migration police. It works on community policing initiatives that target domestic violence and helps update policing strategies and threat assessments. It also works on the establishment of Joint Information Exchange Centres for border officials.

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OSCE Programme Office in Bishkek

The OSCE Programme Office supports Kyrgyz authorities in introducing gradual legislative, administrative and structural changes with a special focus on the rule of law, human rights, gender equality, and multi-ethnic representation across all law enforcement agencies. It aims to further these principles by providing expert, methodological and technical assistance. With the aim to enhance community-based policing, the Programme Office has been supporting the operation of Mobile Police Receptions (MPRs) vehicles across Kyrgyzstan. MPRs are customized minivans, which contain necessary equipment required for a functioning police reception, and can reach remote communities. The MPR initiative helps to increase public trust in the police and improve the latter’s effectiveness through enhancing co-operation between police, local government authorities, civil society and the media.

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OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe

The Programme Office helps the country implement a structural reform package and develop new, modern policing techniques to deal with organized crime, drug trafficking, and terrorist activity. This includes legislative reform; training; and the introduction of democratic standards and community policing methods. The Programme Office also assists with the implementation of a national anti-drug strategy and runs projects to combat violent extremism and radicalization.

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OSCE Programme Office in Nur-Sultan

Working with Kazakhstan’s police, law-enforcement agencies, border service, and customs officers, the Office runs projects to help strengthen regional security, promote democratic policing, counter cybercrime, violent extremism and terrorism while respecting human rights. It provided international expertise in support of law enforcement reforms and helps officials from the region exchange experiences and enhance cross-border co-operation.

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OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Ukraine

In 2014 Ukraine launched a comprehensive police reform to move from an old control-focused agency to a modern service-oriented institution, which is sensitized towards the needs of the community. The Co-ordinator helps to ensure the reform puts into practice the principles of democratic policing that require police to ensure transparency and accountability to all citizens, their representatives, the state and the law.

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OSCE Project Co-ordinator in Uzbekistan

The Project Co-ordinator assists the Police Academy with its training and professional development programme through international exchange visits, upgrading of the Academy’s facilities, and bringing in international expertise into the training curricula. The Co-ordinator also organizes training courses on such issues as human rights theory, the rights of juveniles, or the United Nations Convention against Corruption for staff of the Interior Ministry’s Human Rights Protection and Legal Provision Department.

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