OSCE Mission to Skopje donates training equipment to border police

SKOPJE, 14 April 2009 - The OSCE Spillover Monitor Mission to Skopje donated equipment to the Interior Ministry's Sector for Border Affairs and Migration today to support first aid training for border police officers.

The donation includes eight medical first aid training kits and 40 computers that will be used for training in all four border police regional centres.

"The border police officers are in most cases the first to respond to emergencies in remote communities. Therefore such training is essential for both their own safety and for local residents," said Paulo Costa, the Head of the OSCE Mission's Police Development Department.

"This donation is part of a wider plan to support the national Border Police Service, Organized Crime Unit and Training Structures of the Ministry of Interior in responding to the needs of the communities in line with modern policing principles."

Based on international standards, the first aid course will be part of the border police's yearly in-service training plan.