Lithuania's accession to the European Union and the Schengen area expanded its citizens' opportunities to travel and seek an occupation abroad. Thousands of Lithuanians have moved to Norway to work or study, and relations between these two countries are strong.
Unfortunately, criminals are increasingly exploiting the opportunities of open borders, and crimes committed by Lithuanians abroad have increased in recent years. The need for national police authorities to cooperate in detecting or investigating crime demands cooperation, and the police in Lithuania and Norway are now joining forces to meet this common challenge.
In September, instructors from the main educational facility for police officers in Lithuania, Klaipeda Police School, undertook traineeships at the Norwegian National Police Directorate. During their stay in Norway, the visiting instructors carried out an extensive programme in which several departments of the Norwegian National Police Service were involved. They visited the National Criminal Police Investigation Service (Kripos), as well as the Oslo and Østfold Police Districts. In Østfold the focus was on cross-border crime, and the program included a visit to the Svinesund border crossing station at the Norwegian-Swedish border, operated by the district. At Oslo Police District the topics were organised crime, crime prevention as well as crisis management and negotiations. The experiences learned and the knowledge exchanged will be taken home and implemented in the curriculum at the police school in Lithuania through five new training programmes on international crime focusing on organised crime, environmental crime, human trafficking and other cross-border illegalities.
The support from Norway will also equip Klaipeda Police School with modern technological equipment. A laser simulator system will be installed at the school to replace the current shooting range, which does not meet modern requirements. Mr. Linas Šliuoa, deputy chief of the school, expects both the motivation of the students and the reputation of the school to improve as a consequence of having access to more modern equipment.
Photo credit: Klaipeda Police School