The “Community Police Officer” project is another step of the National Police reform aimed at the safety and protection of the population. The purpose of the project is the development of a close relationship between a police officer and the community, the fruitful cooperation between them, and the increase of a police officer's attention to the needs of the residents
The program presentation took place at Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs on July 30, 2019. The implementation of the program is possible due to the cooperation between the National Police of Ukraine and international partners who provide their support during the police reform process. From this time, a police officer will be assigned to each of the 14 united territorial communities in Kharkiv region. He will both work in the territory of this community and live there. The International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) of the U.S. Department of Justice in Ukraine plays a crucial role in police officers' training organization. This training focuses precisely on the critical skills that will help the community officer perform his duties effectively, namely: building relationships between the police and the community, building trust, hearing their concerns and working together to find solutions, and most important, notifying effectively about the results of their work. Moreover, ICITAP invites mentors and advisers from the USA and Canada who will provide assistance and support to police officers directly during the service.
In February 2020, at Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs, a certificate and keys from service vehicles were handed over to the heads and police officers of the united territorial communities of Kharkiv region within the framework of the “Community Police Officer” project. Representatives of 13 united territorial communities of Kharkiv region received keys and certificates from 26 police cars.
The selection of candidates for community police officer positions is possible among the police officers and the community. In June 2020, the selection of candidates among the police officers who submitted applications for participation in the project started on the basis of Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs. Specialization courses for district police officers assigned to police stations of united territorial communities began at our University in November 2020.
On February 6, 2021, the ceremony on community police officer graduation was held at Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs. During 2,5 months, 84 listeners, who came from different units of the Main Departments of the National Police and Patrol Police Departments of the Department of Patrol Police in Volyn, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Zakarpattia, Sumy, Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Mykolaiv, and Kharkiv Regions, improved their knowledge in general law disciplines, driving skills, studied pre-medical, tactical and special, and firearm training.
