Human rights protection and further development of necessary skills and knowledge of police officers, especially those working in multi-ethnic environment, including Roma communities

Organisation

Academy of the Ministry of the Interior in partnership with the Council of Europe (Академия на Министерството на вътрешните работи в партньорство със Света на Европа).

Start and end date

Start date:

2014

End date:

2017

Scope

National.

Target group(s)

• Police officers (including high-ranking police officers) working in multi-ethnic environments, in particular those working with the Roma population and other vulnerable groups in the regions of Montana, Pazardzhik, Pleven, Plovdiv, Sliven, Sofia, Varna and Vidin.
• Police officers (including high-ranking police officers) authorised to use force, auxiliary means and firearms.

Funding

The Norwegian Financial Mechanism with national co-financing.

Objectives

• Improve the capacity of police officers to work in multi-ethnic environments and increasing their respect for human rights.
• Gain knowledge of the types of protection in place against discrimination.
• Shape tolerant attitudes in civil society and the police services.
• Shape tolerant attitudes in public relations.
• Develop skills for the interpretation of legal frameworks and analysis of cases of discrimination and hate crime.

Outputs

• A baseline study identifying the best methods for implementing legislation in line with European and international human rights standards and recommending possible improvements. The study report consists of about 100 pages and 500 copies were produced.
• Public discussions (at a conference) with the participation of law enforcement representatives, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the project partner leading to the definition of concrete legislative measures. Two experts from the Council of Europe participated in the one-day event in Bulgaria.
• Two experts from the Council of Europe conducted a two-day visit to Bulgaria and, jointly with the Bulgarian partner, developed two training curricula for police officers (one for professional training, which the Academy of the Ministry of the Interior provides, and one for in-service training).
• Experts from the Academy of the Ministry of the Interior and the Council of Europe developed a manual (of about 120 pages). It contains the following modules: international commitments relevant for policing multi-ethnic communities and the use of force, firearms, auxiliary means and power; national standards relevant for policing multi-ethnic communities and the use of force, firearms, auxiliary means and power; the role of the police in multi-ethnic communities; protection against discrimination and its relevance for the police; and addressing hate crimes, including racially motivated crimes. In total, 2,000 copies of the manual were produced. The manual was issued to all trainees.

Description

The project was implemented through a number of joint activities, which were divided into five components.

1. Representatives of the Academy of the Ministry of the Interior and Council of Europe experts conducted a baseline study and analysis of the thematic Bulgarian legislation. The focus of the study was on assessing the implementation of legislation and providing proposals for possible amendments.
2. Development of two training curricula (initial and in-service training courses) on the legitimate and proportionate use of force, auxiliary means and firearms in compliance with human-rights-based policing, and guidelines (in the form of a manual) for police officers on understanding of the preventive mechanisms of using force and working in a multi-ethnic environment. Their experiences and best practices complemented the guidelines.
3. Creation of an appropriate learning environment. This involved the renovation of and provision of equipment for six training rooms, which ensured the post-implementation sustainability of the project’s objectives.
4. Training of trainers. This involved initially providing courses for 40 police officer trainers. Subsequently, each trainer conducted in-service training with 40 police officers (1,600 police officers in total). This component took into account the multi-ethnic and multicultural aspects of the project, by offering specialised training for police officers while they were working in a multi-ethnical environment.
5. Raising awareness among police officers (including high-ranking police officers) about the Roma community (e.g. history, culture and values) to prevent the use of anti-Roma stereotypes and reduce prejudices, mistreatment and ethnic profiling. Roma leaders, the Roma community and NGOs were involved in the activities and shared their experiences.

Critical success factors

• Involvement of both local experts, who are familiar with the domestic context and legislation, and experts from the Council of Europe, who have wide expertise in terms of international human rights law.
• The ‘training of trainers’ component and subsequent in-service courses ensured that the knowledge gained reached a wider audience of police officers.
• The establishment of an appropriate learning environment and the development of two courses, as well as the creation of a manual, will ensure the post-implementation sustainability of the project’s objectives.

Actors involved in the design and implementation of the practice

• Academy of the Ministry of the Interior (overall project management).
• Project implementation team.
• Experts from the Council of Europe, the Academy of the Ministry of the Interior, leaders and representatives of the Roma community and NGOs.

Monitoring and evaluation

Each trainer conducted in-service training. Observers from the Academy of the Ministry of the Interior attended the training sessions. They prepared an analysis of the in-service training and its results based on a survey that they conducted.

Publicly available contact details

Email: MRYordanov.22@mvr.bg