OSCE Presence trains Albanian police in interview and investigation techniques

TIRANA, 22 October 2007 - The OSCE Presence in Albania completed today training of 162 mid-level police officers from 12 police directorates on interview and investigation techniques.

"Training these police officers on the current practices of interviewing and investigation will help provide better information, which in turn hopefully will lead to more prosecutions of those who commit crimes," said Jack Bell, Head of the OSCE Presence's Security Co-operation Department.

The training programme was developed in collaboration with the Police Academy of the Albanian State Police, the Police Assistance Mission of the European Union to Albania (PAMECA) and the International Crime Investigation Training Assistance Programme (ICITAP). It focused on the training of mid-level police officers who are currently conducting interviews in Police Directorates.

The OSCE Presence in Albania and the United States government provided the financial resources for the programme, which consisted of a series of four-day training courses taking place across the country over the past two months.