Training  “Community Policing”  was successfully completed on the basis Expert Centre for Community Policing at Donetsk State University of Internal Affairs (DonSUIA) in Mariupol. It is the only Community Policing Centre that operates all over Ukraine. The training was conducted for lecturers of all higher education institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine from 17 of November till 24 of November 2021.  

The training program is a unique curriculum of the representatives of the European Union Advisory Mission and Donetsk State University of Internal Affairs. In order to implement it the trainers of DonSUIA previously fulfilled the course with the help of tutors - police officers from Canada, Denmark, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Sweden, Romania, Poland, Portugal. The closing ceremony was held on 24 of November 2021.

The ceremony was opened by Kateryna Pavlichenko Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs. She admitted that Community Policing is one of the most important projects for the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the National Police of Ukraine. "Today, the police together with the community work to solve the problems and challenges that particular community faces. The project is aimed at cooperation between law enforcement agencies and society, and is based on the principles of trust, support and mutual assistance. We implement world standards in training for the National Police officers and you support us in this initiative" said the Deputy Minister.

Oleksandr Kurakin Vice-Rector of  DonSUIA  conveyed greetings from the Rector of the University Serhii Vitvitskyi, and addressed the audience with a welcoming words: “We appreciate the efforts of our European partners, their contribution in implementing this important project for the police. Today our goal is to ensure the sustainability of this project for further development! Donetsk State University of Internal Affairs is pleased to welcome representatives of all higher education institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affair, providing high-quality training for National Police bodies”.

Head of the EU Advisory Mission to Ukraine Antti Hartikainen, the Head of the EUAM Regional Office in Mariupol Martin Kulishek, the Head of the Canadian Police Mission in Ukraine Bruce Prange, the rectors of all Universities of  the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and many others took place at the closing ceremony.

          Also, Antti Hartikainen noted that police interaction with the community is one of the main priorities of the EU Advisory Mission: “We believe that one of the best ways to support the introduction of a community policing is to make it a part of the educational program at Universities of Internal Affairs of Ukraine. We will be happy to facilitate the implementation of this training course”.

It should be noted that the Community Policing Expert Centre was opened in April on the basis of DonSUIA, is the first Centre in Ukraine aiming to become a leading analytical and educational centre in the field of community  policing, which provides expertise, support, offers innovative solutions to ensure public safety by strengthening police interaction with the society. The first achievement of the Centre was the joint development with international partners of a unique training program "Community policing ", which embodies the best world practices and European standards of policing.

The Centre’s activities are provided by the team of trainers from Donetsk State University of Internal Affair. In the spring of 2021 the followed a special training course from the EU Advisory Mission and became the first group of instructors on Community Policing under the newly created curriculum.

Thanks to the decision of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the support of international partners, Donetsk State University of Internal Affairs today transferred the acquired knowledge and experience to Lecturers of all higher education institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to disseminate the course "Community Policing".

Donetsk State University of Internal Affairs kindly appreciates international partners for their support and close cooperation!