Increasing efficiency of emergency response to manmade and natural disasters  was  the focus of the police training held from 9 to 11 October 2013 in Trebinje. The EU Support to Law Enforcement Project in cooperation with the RS Police probed the abilities of the police to respond to emergencies and the quality of coordination and cooperation among the police departments and with other relevant bodies such as emergency rooms, hospitals, and fire fighters.
 
The ability of police to provide adequate services in manmade or natural disasters depends on response of personnel working and functioning in an efficient manner. The analysis conducted by the Project into Republika Srpska and Brčko District Police pointed to the need for certain improvements in the existing system: in overcoming barriers in the level of communication and coordination among the first responders as well as deployment and field coordination when  a  rapid response is required.
To address the issue, the Project developed a training programme, including drafting of standard operating procedure in line with the best EU practices.
 
“Training in the area of emergency response to a manmade or natural disaster plays a key role in promoting cooperation between all involved services, building capacity and equipping involved services with knowledge, skills and best practices needed to meet today’s challenges in emergency response, “ said Darko Lesjak, Long Term Expert.

The Project developed a training programme, which addressed both pre-disaster planning and post-disaster responses of police as core members of the first responder system and their interaction with others. The four out of six specialised police trainings held so far were also attended by police managers in order to gain an insight in the performance of their staff.
 
In parallel, the Project used lessons learned and experience to optimise the standard operating procedure document. “The SoP of both Brčko and RS Police   was too general in defining the action of police. As result of this activity, the new SoP for RS Police developed under the guidelines recommended by the Project has been in force since May 2013. Brčko District Police is expected to have it in place in November 2013,” added Lesjak.
  
The next two training cycles will take place in Bijeljina in November, and Banja Luka in December 2013.

The project “EU Support to Law Enforcement“ which is funded by the EU in the amount of 7 Million EUR, from the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA 2010), will continue until 30 April 2014. The project consortium partners include the Ministries of Interior of the Republic of Austria, Republic of Slovenia, Hungary, and of the Land Brandenburg of the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD), and Transparency International BiH (as an Associate). Beneficiary partners are BiH law enforcement agencies at state, entity, cantonal and Brčko District BiH level.