Police Training in HR, New Approaches: Kyrgyz Experience

1
Police Training in HR, New Approaches Kyrgyz
Experience

• Aleksandr Zelichenko,
• Police Colonel, PhD
• IHRD Technical Adviser
• October 24-26, 2007
• Bangkok

2

• First steps in police training in basic knowledge
  on HIV/AIDS nature, its prevention, and tolerant
  attitude to the injected drug users - the major
  risk group that time and now - had been made in
  the late 1990th by members of international
  organizations Doctors sans frontiers and Harm
  Reduction.
• The process started in Osh the city in the
  south region of Kyrgyzstan that still maintains
  the position of the center of Afghan
  narcotraffic and thus, the area of the highest
  rate of injected heroin users. That time the
  first in republic HIV infected via the tip of
  the needle patients had been detected there, in
  the south.

3

• Later on, in 2000-2001 the HIV-service NGOs and
  non-governmental organizations, helping the
  sex-workers, joined the process of the police
  education. The leaders of those organizations
  completed TOT courses (training of trainers) and
  started to educate the police with special focus
  on the units in most probable direct contact with
  HIV/AIDS problem district police, police
  inspection for juvenile offenders, patrol forces,
  road police...

4

• The seminars were not systematized or
  coordinated, the training process highly depended
  from the ability of the NGO leader to establish a
  good contact with various police officials
  (friendly relations, blood roots, small
  stipends all means had been used to motivate
  for the staff training).
• The seminars mostly concentrated on the problems
  of sex-workers and injected drug users human
  rights violation, although included some
  information about infection diseases, roots of
  invasion and ways for prevention.

5

• While stressing the necessity and usefulness of
  those contacts and communications, and the fact
  that NGOs succeeded to find the open niche and
  to fill in (on some extend) the existed vacuum in
  police education in HIV/AIDS problem, it is worth
  to mention the mild efficiency of that
  activities.
• Due to their specific professional experience,
  mentality, knowledge and skills obtained in the
  Police Schools, the police officers could not
  accept the drug users and sex workers, even
  former, in capacity of trainers...
• After sustainable changes, this type of training
  still takes place and very actual today.

6

• In 2002-2003 various international organizations
  (e.g. AIDS Foundation East-West, Soros
  Foundation, etc.) came back to the area of police
  education, this time on the new higher level.
• It was very promising because the positive image
  of these well known international organizations
  draws very close attention and serious attitude
  towards their initiatives.
• In addition, they invited very experienced
  trainers and international experts.

7

• Later on, after number of special seminars for
  trainers, the local police officers, some of them
  the high ranked police authorities, also had
  been involved into the teaching process.
• This approach seems to be the most acceptable
  and effective.
• - The instructor and listeners are speaking the
  same language, what means the easier
  understanding.
• The subordination also plays its role and
  motivates the police officers to get prepared to
  the lecture given by their supervisor and to
  listen attentively.

8

• The local trainer, in his turn, is motivated with
  opportunity to participate on the prestigious
  seminars for trainers, including some training
  abroad, gets some (not very high) wage for
  lecturing and respect from his colleagues for his
  cooperation with international organization.
• All these motivated the local instructor to take
  his assignment very seriously.
• The last, but not the least, the local instructor
  police official becomes our collaborator in
  novel approach to the entire problem and its
  practical solution.

9

• The next step the educating institutions of
  the Kyrgyz Ministry of Interior started to
  develop and implement the special training
  programs, sponsored by the international
  foundations.
• A good example is 40-hours training course on
  HIV/AIDS, other common infections (e.g.
  tuberculosis, hepatitis ?) and ways of invasion
  prevention, included into the curriculum of
  Bishkek Police Academy since 2004.
• In addition, number of manuals, information
  bulletins and booklets on HIV/AIDS prevention are
  issued and distributed, including safety
  techniques for the crime scene search, personal
  search and field operations.

10

• The Medical Department of MIA also joined the
  process of police staff educating and actively
  distribute knowledge about HIV/AIDS, other sexual
  transmitted diseases, ways of prevention.
• They scheduled the special site visits to the
  police stations to give lectures and seminars,
  using video materials, poster presentations, and
  other teaching aids.
• All these lessons are included into the service
  training plan the curriculum and timetable are
  approved by the chief of the city or regional
  police station.

11

• In the year 2005 the police newspapers received a
  grant from the Soros-Kyrgyzstan Foundation and
  started to publish the corresponding materials in
  Russian and Kyrgyz languages.
• Almost each weekly issue included digests of the
  international Mass-Media on the problem and
  articles by specialists in infectious diseases,
  science of laws and police practice aimed to
  address needs in police education.

12

• The police newspapers have authority with law
  enforcement staff. Besides, the vast majority of
  police communities (because of various reasons)
  have not easy access to other information
  resources, including electronic Mass-Media.
• The educational materials, printed in the police
  newspapers, appeared to be very useful, relevant
  and welcomed.
• This practice had been prolonged trough 2006, the
  application for grant had been sent to Soros
  Kyrgyzstan Foundation also in 2007.
• Hope it will get positive response and thus one
  of the most effective forms of police education
  will be extended.

13

• In support of the striving of the Kyrgyz Ministry
  of Interior to raise the awareness and to provide
  the police community with comprehensive knowledge
  and skills in HIV-infection, sexual transmitted
  diseases and other common infections (e.g.
  tuberculosis, malaria, etc.) prevention and in
  response on our application, the Open Society
  Institution granted US40,000 and sponsored the
  project aimed on the developing the training
  course in the Police Academy of MIA.

14

• The project envisages training for police cadets
  and acting officers (including trainees from
  other republics) in Harm Reduction philosophy and
  practice.
• As it becomes clear from the course title, it is
  not limited by the general, basic principles of
  HIV prevention, although this is the large
  component of the program.
• The ultimate goal is to teach the police
  community in new approaches, to develop the
  tolerant attitude towards drug-users, HIV
  infected people and sex-workers (the sex-workers
  component was recently added to the curriculum by
  initiative of the Public Health Program of the
  Open Society Institution).

15

• The training course is developed in the context
  of the police reforming, with great input and
  active participation of NGOs and civil society,
  assigned representatives to the working group.
• In the framework of the project it is also
  planned to develop and publish a textbook, means
  to place the Harm Reduction approaches to the
  scientific level with methodological base
  developing and prospective application of the HR
  principles on the various negative social
  phenomenon.

16

• After its completion, the training course will
  get an approval in the Ministry of Interior and
  Ministry of Education, and thus will acquire a
  position of the basic course within the system of
  the police forces undergraduate and postgraduate
  professional education, along with the criminal
  law, administrative law, forensic, etc.
• On the moment about half of the planned material
  already developed, approved and included into the
  curriculum, methodology and research portions of
  the course on HIV/AIDS prevention.

17

• The official delegation of the Ministry of
  Public Security of China recently visited
  Kyrgyzstan and demonstrated its interest to this
  program.

18
Any questions?