Strengthening professional competence of Latvian, Lithuanian and Polish police officers: Scope of the international training project

Abstract

Entry into the European Union (EU) and the Schengen Area have not only opened new possibilities, but also resulted in new obligations for the new Member Statesin thearea ofensuring public safety. Abolition ofinternal border controls within the fU has increased the responsibility and workload of the police forces. It hasbecome ofgreat importance for police officers, especially for those working in the borderterritories, to have agoodknowledge ofnot only national, butalso EU andinternational legislation and that oftheneighbouring Member States. Theimplementation oftheSchengenacquis communoutoireprovisions -isone of themostimportant tasks for thelowenforcementinstitutions inimplementing theEU Internal sewritypolicy. Seeking to ensure proper and comprehensive application ofthe Schengen requirements within thepolice field ofactivity, it is necessary to providepolice officers with knowledge on the available tools designed for enhancedinternationalcooperation. Moreoverspecial attention is to be paid to joint actions in the internal border regions: joint patrolling, control of migration flows, cross-border surveillance and hot-pursuit. The article presents new opportunities of strengthening police professional competences through training under theframework ofon international project. The analysis ofthecollfent ofthe international training organized has allowedidentification ofthe main problems in the field ofinternational police cooperation. The training eventshove highlighted the main problems in thefield ofinternational police cooperation, as well as the relevance and necessity of this kind ofpolice training. It has also allowedproposals for thenewandfuture trends in the sphere oftraining.