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Description
Programme outcome the project contributes to: “Improved situation for the Roma population”.
The project will contribute to the prevention of violation of human rights by the police while acting in a multi-ethnic environment, with special focus on the Roma population, enhancing the police officers skills related to prevention of domestic violence, trafficking in human beings and pickpocketing in Roma community and prevention of ill-treatment by the police.
The project will include, inter alia, the following main activities:
- Awareness raising and training among police officers on crime prevention, Roma values and culture and European antidiscrimination standards; increasing knowledge of police officers on Roma community (e.g. on Roma history, culture, values etc.), preventing the stereotypes against Roma, reducing the prejudices, mistreatment and ethnic profiling; involving Roma community, NGOs and international partners in trainings to share experience;
- Training of trainers provided for police officers located in regions with predominantly Roma population on prevention of ill-treatment by police;
- Administrative capacity in policing in multicultural society enhanced;
- Baseline study and analysis of policing on the current situation, including legislation, domestic violence, trafficking in human beings and pickpocketing in Roma community;
- Renovation and the provision of equipment for 6 training auditorium rooms;
- Development of module for e-learning platform on prevention of ill-treatment. The module will be put in operation on e-platform during the project implementation;
- Development of a training curriculum and conducting training on prevention of ill-treatment by police. Trainings will take place at the Centers for Specialized Police Training in Pazardzhik, Varna and Kazanlak.
Summary of project results
In the development of the "Home Affairs" Program the Ministry of Interior (MoI) placed emphasis on projects aimed at contributing to the achievement of Outcome 3: Improved Situation of the Roma Population. The project, with the Project Promotor the Academy of the Ministry of Interior (Academy of MoI), is one of the four projects entirely focused on addressing the identified needs of the project''s target group.
One of the main issues is the violation of human rights and mistreatment of the Roma population by the police. This has created the need for a project aimed at preventing human rights violations by the police when working in a multi-ethnic environment, with a special focus on the Roma population. The project also seeks to enhance the skills of police officers in preventing domestic violence, human trafficking, and pickpocketing within Roma communities, as well as preventing the abuse of police authority.
On the other hand, communication in a multi-ethnic environment is a two-way process and, as such, should have a positive impact on individuals belonging to multi-ethnic and multicultural communities, including the Roma community.
The needs identified in the previous point were addressed through a complex of activities. Within the project, the high expertise of the project partner, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), contributed to the successful implementation of some of the activities. A needs assessment was conducted, which aimed at identifying the problems affecting relations between Roma population and the police at the national level. This needs assessment allowed OSCE experts to adapt a training program for trainers on "Police and Roma - effective policing in accordance with human rights" to the problems between Roma population and the police in Bulgaria.
The next group of activities were related to a wider range of training sessions aimed at disseminating the knowledge and training materials acquired by the trainers to the widest possible range of police officers, thereby increasing the capacity to prevent and reduce human rights violations.
For a broader approach related to increasing the capacity to prevent and reduce human rights violations, the beneficiary also included activities related to the development of curricula and manuals, including topics on prevention, community policing, legitimate use of police powers by officers working in a multi-ethnic and multicultural environment, and relationships between police officers and vulnerable groups, including the Roma population.
The development of an additional module with digital educational content was an exceptional added value to the project. The digital manuals are intended for use in the training process and for self-preparation within the internal network of the Academy of the MoI. This ensures the sustainability of the project''s results and multiplies the positive practices among police officers and cadets.
After the completion of the described activities, seminars were also planned to gather in different regions of Bulgaria to disseminate the results and demonstrate the achievements in the field of prevention, community policing, legitimate use of police powers by officers working in a multi-ethnic and multicultural environment, and relationships between police officers and vulnerable groups, including the Roma population. The seminars were of great importance as they created an opportunity for fruitful discussions between the police and representatives of the Roma community in Bulgaria. The seminars were led by lecturers with proven expertise in Roma issues.
To create a suitable learning environment that would ensure the sustainability of the project''s results after its completion, the project also included group of activities related to the renovation and equipment of training rooms in the Academy of the MoI building and in centres across the country, where subsequent train-the-trainer training will be conducted based on the training materials developed and digitized within the project.
The contribution of the National Financing Mechanism was planned to be promoted through several information events, as well as through the internet, media presentations, and promotional materials.
All described activities were fully implemented with the need for changes during the implementation process necessitating modifications to some of them. It can be summarized that the expected results, as planned in Output 3.1, were fully achieved.
The project partner conducted a needs assessment and baseline assessment. Four meetings were envisaged with focus groups of police officers directly working with the Roma population, senior police officers who supervise the work of police officers working with the Roma population, representatives of the Roma community and representatives of Roma civil society. The project partner conducted train-the-trainer training sessions within the project.
In the context of the COVID pandemic, the planned trainings of trainers were conducted;
- 36 trainers were trained. As a result of the subsequent training sessions, the acquired experience was transferred to 1881 officers working directly in a multi-ethnic environment;
- Within the project two training curricula and five training manuals were developed, printed, and disseminated. The topics of the manuals are related to issues of human rights protection and prevention of human rights violations by the police while operating in a multi-ethnic environment, with a special focus on the Roma population and enhancing police officers'' skills in working with Roma;
- Five workshops were held for police officers, NGO representatives, and Roma community representatives with approximately 200 participants;
- E-learning materials were developed, which are now available for self-paced learning;
- Six training halls (three in the Academy''s main building in Sofia and three in the Centers for professional training in Pazardzhik, Varna and Kazanlak) were renovated and equipped with the necessary equipment (IT equipment, furniture, etc.);
All the aforementioned results contribute to the prevention and reduction of human rights violations by the police while operating in a multi-ethnic environment, enhancing police officers'' skills in working with Roma, building mutual trust between Roma communities and the police, and enhancing the perception of safety and security among Roma. It can be concluded that the implementation of the project ensures long-term sustainability due to the nature of the achieved results – training curricula, manuals, and training materials (including e-learning materials), which are now available for continuous use and self-paced learning. On the other hand, the training of trainers and the training of police officers and cadets ensure the multiplication of the effect among other police officers. 447 Police officers and cadets were additionally trained in Pazardzhik, Varna and Kazanlak following the completion of the project.
The necessary conditions for effective training have already been created at the Academy and the Centers for professional training through the renovation of training halls and the delivery of equipment for them. These premises will be used in the long term for organizing and conducting training on the topics of human rights protection and prevention of human rights violations by the police while operating in a multi-ethnic environment, with a special focus on the Roma population.
According to project participants, the opportunity for open discussions on issues related to multicultural communication and mutual understanding was highlighted as the most important part of the project. The project significantly contributed to overcoming mutual attitudes and stereotypes developed in police officers and the Roma population, hindering full communication and leading to cases of violence. Roma lecturers rated the project as extremely useful, as it created an opportunity for direct communication to discuss problems for the first time.