European Union Advisory Mission (EUAM) has completed its two-week online seminar for cadets of Dnipropetrovsk State University of Internal Affairs. Many students of this HEI service in different units providing public order during the means connected with Covid-19. Thus, due to hard times the topic of the seminar (providing public order) was really up-to-date.
Virtual seminar consisted of two parts: online course for self-study with presentations and necessary literature (the first week) and webinars at the participation of EUAM international experts (the second week). At the completion of the program cadets passed the test and obtained answers to their questions to experts. The event was held by EUAM officers from Denmark, Portugal, Sweden, Croatia and Ukraine.
Online course in providing public order was based on the best European practices as well as Scandinavian model, which concept had been officially approved in Ukraine in 2018. The document describes the methods for police to apply during mass events: demonstrations, sports competitions, concerts, etc. The concept contains EUAM recommendations based on the European model of providing public order.
The main seminar subjects included human rights, democratic activity of the police, and de-escalation principles. Dialogue police is an integral part of the providing public order concept, since it is directed to establishing communication with organizers and participants of mass events as well as de-escalation and violence prevention. This approach was developed over ten years ago in Germany and Sweden and is already approved in Ukraine; its meaning is in protection of citizens’ rights to meetings freedom.
“We realize cadets’ devotion, who are currently assisting in combat against coronavirus spreading. We counteract COVID-19 altogether”, stated Jose Barreto, head of providing public order department at the EUAM. “We are honoured to conduct the first such online seminar in Dnipro. We hope that this will strengthen our cooperation and will allow further implementation of public order concept in Ukraine, dialogue police and democratic police activity, which Ukraine has obliged to implement”.
According to Ruslan Valeev, police colonel, associate professor of the Special Tactical Training Department at DSUIA, “Distant course and virtual meetings allowed leveling down obligatory isolation and gain European police activity experience. It is important that the information was given firsthand from qualified experts, who have many years of experience in terms of working as police officers in the sphere of providing public order”.
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