OSCE Centre helps Kyrgyz police to strengthen community ties

BISHKEK, 20 January 2009 - More than 80 Kyrgyz police officers attended a workshop organized by the OSCE Centre today to discuss strengthening partnerships with the community.

The meeting aimed to discuss the achievements and challenges of the previous year in police reform and to plan further steps in police-community co-operation, based on recommendations from the OSCE Centre in Bishkek and the OSCE's Strategic Police Matters unit.

"This workshop is based on analysis of best practices from the OSCE area in building police-public partnerships, developed and recommended by the Senior Police Adviser to the OSCE Secretary General, and we hope it will support the Kyrgyz police service's community initiatives," said Vladimir Tkachenko, Police Adviser of the OSCE Centre in Bishkek.

"Involvement of the community in crime prevention has become a priority for the Kyrgyz police, and Public Prevention Centres have been created throughout the country. Our efforts in building partnerships between police and public will continue during this year," said Almazbek Moldokmatov, Chief of the Community Policing Unit at the Police Headquarters in Bishkek.

Workshop participants included senior and mid-level managers from Kyrgyz Police headquarters and regional police departments, as well as representatives of civil society and international organizations, including the OSCE Centre in Bishkek.

The dialogue aims to support implementation of the country's 2008-2010 Reform Programme, priorities of which include police reform and community policing, both developed with the active support of the OSCE.