The FINANCIAL — Ukrainian police commanders responsible for maintaining public order during mass events such as demonstrations and football matches will benefit from a training programme developed with assistance from the EU Advisory Mission(EUAM) Ukraine.
The programme is based on the ‘Scandinavian approach’ to public order policing, which, according to EUAM, is widely recognised as one of the most effective in Europe, according to EU Neighbours East Info.
The one-month training, which will run from 25 September to 27 October 2017, forms part of EUAM’s contribution to the development of a new public order policing model for Ukraine that tries to minimise the risk of violence. The training will be delivered by police officers from a number of European countries, mainly Denmark and Sweden.
According to a press release by the EUAM, it is planned that 22 police commanders will be trained over the course of the programme, including those at the very top of the chain of command during mass events.
The methods promoted include constant dialogue with the crowd, a low-key police presence, which is only escalated if serious disturbances occur, and an understanding of the psychology of crowds, among other techniques. At the heart of the approach is the philosophy that mass events are a human right that the police have to protect, rather than a threat.
Discussion about this post