OSCE Centre trains Kyrgyz police officers on conflict prevention and negotiation skills

ISSYK-KUL, Kyrgyzstan, 27 September 2008 - More than 500 police officers from Kyrgyzstan's Naryn and Issyk-Kul provinces participated in a series of OSCE-organized training courses on conflict prevention and negotiation skills, which ended today.

The six-day courses were delivered by experts from the Centre for Human Rights and Civilian Oversight of the Kyrgyz Police Academy and the Kyrgyz Interior Ministry. Participants improved their knowledge about crowd psychology, stages of conflicts, prevention of conflicts, and use of force and negotiation techniques.

"Preventing potential conflicts between the public and police is an important part of OSCE assistance in developing the Kyrgyz police," said Knut Dreyer, the OSCE Centre's Police Reform Adviser.

"It is the first time we have had training on negotiation skills. Communication and negotiation skills help define the level of public trust towards police," said Azamat Israilov, Chief of Motor Licensing and Inspection Department of Kara-Kol city of Issyk-Kul province.

"The training course improved our officers' negotiation skills and was timely in light of upcoming local elections," said Dinarbek Sulaimanov, Chief of Ak-Talaa police of Naryn province.

The training courses were organized by the OSCE Centre in Bishkek as part of an ongoing project with the Kyrgyz Police Academy that aims to promote democratic public order management, especially in the regions.