Professional training of Police Guards officers enters new stage 

ArmInfo.  A new stage of professional training of future employees of the Police Guard has begun.

This was reported by the press service of the Ministry of Internal  Affairs of the Republic of Armenia.  As the source notes, the  training courses that started on June 19 will allow future employees  of the Police Guard to improve their professional readiness to apply  coercive measures in accordance with the new law.

"This initiative is another result of close cooperation with the  Ministry of Internal Affairs. Today, your active participation in a  special series of trainings is very important: it expresses not only  your readiness to develop your abilities and skills, but also your  commitment to the values of human rights and the rule of law," said  Maxim Longangen, Head of the Council of Europe Office in Yerevan, in  his speech.

In turn, Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs of the Republic of  Armenia Armen Mkrtchyan thanked the partners in the Council of Europe  for effective cooperation, emphasizing the importance of the results  achieved jointly within the framework of police reforms. "We launched  this series of trainings in February with the support of our  partners. We held training courses for trainers in key important  areas, such as the use of force, detention as a separate area," the  deputy minister said.

At the same time, Mkrtchyan emphasized the need for respect for  citizens' rights and competent application of legislation in the  context of coercion or use of force in the performance of the Police  Guard officers.  According to Armen Mkrtchyan, this is also an  important guarantee in terms of the invulnerability of police  officers.

According to the national expert of the Council of Europe, Hrayr  Ghukasyan, participants will be given many opportunities and time to  raise issues of concern to them. "We hope that this will be a more  effective format so that we can do what we want in the most  accessible way possible," he noted.

The training material is presented with an applied approach. As part  of the course, participants will also study specific situational  issues, which will allow them to develop practical skills for the  correct response.  The course is aimed not only at developing  professional skills, but also at transforming thinking in order to  form more proportionate and human rights-compliant approaches to the  use of coercive measures.

National expert of the Council of Europe Arnold Vardanyan explained  that during the training courses the principles and starting points  that should be the "red line" when applying coercive measures were  presented. The specifics of applying individual types of coercive  measures will also be presented, based on the new standards  established in the recently adopted "Law on the Police Service".

Reforms in the structure of the Police are being carried out in four  main areas: the formation of the Patrol Service, the Criminal Police,  the Municipal Police and the Police Guard.