Ukraine: ICITAP-Facilitated Police Reform Efforts Continue Expanding Beyond Urban Areas

On December 9, the ICITAP-Ukraine mission reported that, on December 6 and 7, a total of 48 new Territorial Community Police Officers (TCPOs) from two regions in central Ukraine graduated from ICITAP-facilitated training. At the graduation ceremony, representatives from the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), leaders from the National Police of Ukraine (NPU), and heads of local communities gathered to celebrate the successful completion of twelve weeks of joint NPU-ICITAP law enforcement training, in addition to a field-training internship with active TCPOs working in the region. The program is focused on preparing the officers for community policing in rural settings to provide comprehensive peace officer services to areas historically underserved by the NPU. Additionally, the TCPOs received keys to their new service vehicles, which are equipped with tools and equipment for them to work on their own in the Amalgamated Territorial Communities to which they are assigned. According to the NPU, public trust has increased in the communities where TCPOs are working. ICITAP has provided critical support for the TCPO program in recruitment, training, curriculum development, strategic planning, public information campaigns, and community preparation and monitoring. This is the second group of TCPOs to deploy to the field since the program began in early 2019. In Ukraine, ICITAP delivers this assistance with the support of and in coordination with the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics an law Enforcement Affairs (INL).