Kosovo police school helps development of civilian law enforcement in Georgia
So when the Georgian authorities were considering how to approach the rapid development of a democratic police force, they turned to the Kosovo Police Service School (KPSS) - which has successfully tackled similar issues in recent years - for help.
With over six years of experience in police education and training, the KPSS is swiftly becoming a highly valuable source of expertise amongst the OSCE participating States.
In March, the School hosted a four-member delegation from the Georgian Police Academy, who were in Kosovo as part of a study tour to observe teaching methodologies and examine how they might be applied in Georgia.
Reusing existing knowledge
The Director of the School, Steve Bennett, believes that this sort of co-operation is a good example of the efficient use of knowledge already gained.
"The Mission in Kosovo has developed a comprehensive police education programme. Using it in places where it can be easily adapted and applied shows how lessons learned and best practices can be effectively shared between Kosovo and other missions," he says.
The link between the two police schools came about as a result of OSCE activities: the Kosovo Mission runs the KPSS, while the Georgia Mission is helping the Academy to improve its operations and bring it closer to European standards.
Michael Schulte-Schrepping, police instructor and head of the Specialized Training Section at the KPSS, notes that the visit by the Academy team is a follow-up to the training sessions on field work and criminal investigations that he and a colleague delivered in Georgia from November 2005 to January 2006.
"For the training, we used the curriculum developed for the KPSS and adjusted it to fit the Georgian legal framework," he says. "We also held 'training the trainers' sessions, so that the Academy's instructors can deliver these courses on their own in future."
Ease of implementation
The interest of the Georgian side in the KPSS curriculum dates from the spring of 2005, when a group of high-ranking Georgian police officials visited a number of European police schools. The Kosovo programme was found to be most suitable as well as the easiest to implement.
As David Chegelidze, a senior teacher at the Academy and a member of the Georgian delegation, points out: "Prior to the Rose Revolution in 2004, the police in Georgia were perceived as a force of oppression.
"Now, however, we are going through a transition period where we need rapid, high-quality results. We found Kosovo's experience in establishing a democratic police force very useful, and we assessed their curriculum as the most likely to achieve that goal."
Having adapted and adopted parts of the KPSS's curriculum in late 2005, the Georgian police were also interested in looking at the teaching methodology and accessories it uses.
They saw not only how the School works in practice, but were also able to study the structure of the Kosovo police force and the way it conducts its daily business.
Visible investment
"The thing that struck me the most was the visible investment in the KPSS and police education," adds David. "We will present our observations to our superiors so they can decide which of the practices they might want to implement.
"We are still at the beginning of the police reform process in Georgia and we want to continue building on what we have learned by studying the experiences of the Kosovo police and the KPSS."