Community Policing System (UA0067)

Event: Creation of a “Community policing” system.; Implementation timeframe: 2016-2018; Entities responsible: National Police, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Education and Science, Regional and Kyiv Municipal State administrations.; Partners: European Union Advisory Mission in Ukraine (EUAM), IREX International organisation, Dream Kyiv non-governmental organisation, other civil society institutions and international organisations (by consent).; Expected results: Ensuring the: Training of patrol policemen, district policemen, juvenile prevention inspectors and inspectors of patrol police response groups in the principles of community policing (December 2017). Holding of information campaigns on matters related to community policing among the populace (June 2018). Establishment of citizen advisory groups in urban settlements (June 2018). Creation and launch of online resources for police and community support and cooperation (2017). Implementation of the “School and Police” project (June 2018).

11. Create a “Community policing” system

Commitment Text:

Creation of a “Community policing” system

Expected results: Training of patrol policemen, district policemen, juvenile prevention inspectors and inspectors of patrol police response groups in the principles of community policing (December 2017). Holding of information campaigns on matters related to community policing among the populace (June 2018). Establishment of citizen advisory groups in urban settlements (June 2018). Creation and launch of online resources for police and community support and cooperation (2017). Implementation of the “School and Police” project (June 2018).

Responsible institutions: National Police, Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of Education and Science, Regional and Kyiv Municipal State administrations.

Supporting institutions: European Union Advisory Mission in Ukraine (EUAM), IREX International organization, Dream Kyiv non-governmental organization, other civil society institutions and international organizations (by consent).

Start date: December 2016..                                     End date: August 2018

Commitment Aim:

The commitment aims to create a community policing system. The commitment would reform the police force. It seeks to promote community policing and train police officers in the principles of community policing. It would conduct information campaigns on community policing and establish citizen advisory groups. The commitment would also create and launch online resources for police and community support and cooperation, and implement a School and Police project.

Status

Midterm: Substantial

According to the government’s self-assessment report, the police completed an unspecified number of trainings for police in six regions. The police were still in the process of conducting trainings in three other regions and had educated 614 police officers as trainers in community policing. [197] No significant media campaign had taken place at the midterm. Instead, the National Police had focused on organizing meetings between the police and both civil society representatives and the broader public. At midterm, 1,261 meetings had taken place. The government’s self-assessment report indicated that within the time frame of this commitment, the police had conducted as many as 9,523 instructional classes in Ukrainian high schools. [198] The School Police Officer module involved a patrol officer visiting a school and scheduling conversations with students. [199] According to the government’s self-assessment report, a majority of parents and children considered the crime prevention in schools program positive. To provide more online resources for the police and the public, the National Police launched a small pilot program in Kyiv collecting public feedback using a Facebook page called 'Secure Community.' [200] The page received 397 appeals from the public to address a variety of issues regarding local policing. Yet the National Police have not begun to form citizen advisory groups. Overall, by midterm, the commitment had made substantial progress. For more information, please see the 2016–2018 IRM midterm report. [201]

End of term: Substantial

By the end of the action plan, the government had substantially completed the commitment. The National Police continued conducting more trainings for police, launched new information campaigns, and continued updating online resources for police and community support and cooperation. To increase capacity according to the community policing approach, the police taught 258 trainers and held 383 workshops. These efforts taught 5,443 policemen. [202] Moreover, the government included the “Сommunity Policing” module in the basic training for police officers. [203] The National Police reported 3,771 meetings with citizens and 2,702 public events within the community policing framework. [204] Implementing the School and Police project, the police held 18,304 classes in schools, involving 527,621 children. The police conducted 3,301 camp trainings with 115,223 children participants. The police conducted 2,268 trainings in kindergartens, involving 86,556 children. [205]

The National Police extended the School and Police project to include Kharkiv, Dnipro, Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, Rubizhne, Chernivtsi, and Kropyvnytskyi. [206] Civil society activists, implementing community-police initiatives, also noted progress in introducing the community policing approach in police practice, [207] in particular as implemented by the Patrol Police (a division of the National Police). [208] However, the IRM researcher found no solid confirmation about citizen advisory groups.These efforts merit a ranking of substantial regarding completion of this commitment.

Did It Open Government?

Access to Information: Major

Civic Participation: Marginal

Community policing is a new concept in Ukraine. The approach constitutes part of the bigger police reform that started in 2014 and embodies the objective to change the low level of public trust toward the police. [209] Prior to implementation of this commitment, police did not proactively reach out to communities about crime prevention measures, and police did not traditionally interact with the public as part of building trust.

The commitment has led to a major improvement in access to information about police reform. It has also led to a change in the functioning of the police, including new channels for interaction with citizens. The commitment resulted in hundreds of workshops covering more than 5,000 police officials and over 6,000 meetings and public events. According to police officials, the information campaign covered the topics of gender violence, work with probation centers, work with people with disabilities, ecological initiatives, and sport events. [210] They also dealt with issues of family violence, bullying, wearable light reflectors, fraud, citizens' rights and duties, police activities, and community-police collaboration. [211] These efforts have changed the government practice in terms of providing information to citizens about the mandate and functioning of the police force, focus of the new Patrol Police reform, and how citizens can interact with police to prevent crime.

A civil society activist implementing community-police projects emphasized that due to a lack of resources, the government reformed only the Patrol Police according to the principles of community policing. [212] According to the activist, due to the preventive nature of their work, the Patrol Police are not fully acknowledged by the National Police. [213] Nevertheless, the activist felt that in communities covered by the community policing project, trust toward the police is higher than in communities without this project. [214] An official from the police acknowledged that due to the openness of police, on web pages and social media, people increasingly report to police officers more often. [215]

The citizen advisory groups had not been established by the end of the action plan. However, the National Police reported 12 joint police-community projects. These projects are closely connected to the School and Police project: SHOP (nationwide), POLiS (nationwide), Secure Community (Kyiv), Basic Self-Defense Course for Women (Dnipro), Community Mapping (Ivano-Frankivsk), Patrol Policemen Jointly with Ukrtransbezpeka and Transporters Work with Communities (Uzhgorod), Secure City (Kherson), Policemen Assistant (Lviv), Red Cross (Chernivtsi), Security Sector (Boryspil), Local Project (Odesa), and Neighbor Watch (Vinnytsia). [216] The National Police noted that as the local population became more engaged in ensuring community security, residents sent more requests to introduce School and Police and Neighbor Watch projects in their neigbhourhoods. [217] These projects have helped to improve cooperation between police and communities. For example, in Brovary, the police detained a gang of burglars due to cooperation between locals and police officers. [218]

A civic activist facilitating community-police collaboration noticed that decentralization reform and the Community Policing project had a synergy effect. Several communities must decide with whom to form amalgamated communities. So local residents deliberate which communities are better to unite with and seek those with police stations, patrol cars, and a track record of efficient policing. [219] While not all reported activities can be directly attributed to the “Community Policing” approach, overall there are notable advancements in policing practices, that indicate a marginal change in regarding citizen participation.

Carried Forward?

When this report was written, the government had not published the next action plan. Therefore, it was not clear if the government carried this commitment forward. Whether or not the government has included it in the next OGP plan, the government needs to have thorough evaluation mechanisms to ensure that the trainings have a sustained impact. Additionally, to be effective, community policing projects need to extend beyond schools and reach more community members. Such efforts would naturally fit under the activities of civic advisory boards. The IRM researcher recommends continuing National Police trainings and expanding the School and Police project. Joint citizen-police patrolling could help to advance the collaboration.

[197] “The Interim Report on the Realization of the Action Plan for the Implementation of the Open Government Partnership Initiative in 2016–2018,” Civil Society and Authorities: Governmental Website, accessed 13 September 2017 (link no longer accessible as of 25 April 2018) http://civic.kmu.gov.ua/consult_mvc_kmu/uploads/attach-3467-910681586.doc.

[198] Ibid.

[199] “September 1, Police Will Patrol School,” Ukraine Today, 1 September 2016,

[200] “Secure Community,” Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/bezpechna.gromada/?ref=br_rs.

[201] “Ukraine Mid-Term Report 2016–2018,” Open Government Partnership, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/ukraine-mid-term-report-2016-2018-year-1/.

[202] Oleksandr Kotsar (National Police of Ukraine), email exchange with IRM researcher, 14 August 2018.

[203] Kateryna Belugina (National Police of Ukraine), interview with IRM researcher, 15 August 2018.

[204] Oleksandr Kotsar (National Police of Ukraine), email exchange with IRM researcher, 14 August 2018.

[205] Ibid.

[206] Ibid.

[207] Uliana Shadska (Expert Center for Human Rights), interview with IRM researcher, 8 August 2018.

[208] Lydmyla Yankina (Information Center on Human Rights), interview with IRM researcher, 13 August 2018.

[209] “The Attitude of the Citizens of Ukraine Towards Social Institutions, Electoral Attitudes: The Results of Sociological Research, April 2017,” Razumkov Center, http://razumkov.org.ua/uploads/socio/Press0417.pdf.

[210] Oleksandr Kotsar (National Police of Ukraine), email exchange with IRM researcher, 14 August 2018.

[211] Kateryna Belugina (National Police of Ukraine), email exchange with IRM researcher, 18 October 2018.

[212] Lydmyla Yankina (Information Center on Human Rights), interview with IRM researcher, 13 August 2018.

[213] Ibid.

[214] Ibid.

[215] Kateryna Belugina (National Police of Ukraine), interview with IRM researcher, 15 August 2018.

[216] Oleksandr Kotsar (National Police of Ukraine), email exchange with IRM researcher, 14 August 2018.

[217] Kateryna Belugina (National Police of Ukraine), interview with IRM researcher, 15 August 2018.

[218] Lydmyla Yankina (Information Center on Human Rights), interview with IRM researcher, 13 August 2018.

[219] Ibid.