13/09/2024

This week the Agency for Education and Professional Training hosted the third pilot training as part of the Erasmus+ project "Development of Joint Curriculum for First Responders on the Use of Force and First Aid Tactical Procedures" (FIRST-TAC). Other participants in the project were the Police Academy "Prvi hrvatski redarstvenik" of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia, the Police School from Słupsk (Poland), and the Lithuanian Police School from Mastaičiai.

As part of this project, which began in September last year, experts from partner institutions jointly developed a training curriculum for police officers in the areas of tactics and techniques for the use of force and tactical medicine. The ultimate goal is to improve and standardize the actions of regular police officers when using force and providing first aid, by exchanging experiences and best practices, as well as aligning the national curricula of the partner countries, under the slogan "Saving lives - harmonized and standardized European policing."

The pilot training in Mostar included six police officers each from Lithuania, Poland, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Under the mentorship of instructors who created the training curricula, they practically covered all segments of the new curricula, in line with preparations for implementing the training and detailed descriptions of exercises. Prior to the scenario-based training, participants engaged in self-paced online learning, allowing active police officers, who are the trainees, to refresh and enhance their theoretical knowledge before the practical part. This was done by studying materials prepared for them and testing their understanding through a series of short quizzes.

The five-day pilot training as part of the ERASMUS+ project concluded with the awarding of certificates. In his opening speech, Marko Vujević, Director of the Agency for Education and Professional Training, congratulated the participants on successfully completing the training, emphasizing the importance of lifelong learning and training that enhances police officers' competencies and promotes the exchange of operational experiences. "I hope you will transfer the knowledge you have gained to your institutions and that it will contribute to strengthening the capacities of your police structures," said Vujević, also thanking everyone who contributed to the project's implementation in any way. He highlighted that the staff of the agency worked hard to provide all possible support to ensure adequate working conditions.

It should be noted that such international training opportunities help build and strengthen a network of police experts, promoting both professional and cultural exchange among all participants and fostering the development of a shared European identity. These are the goals of the Erasmus+ programme, which funded this project worth €250,000.

The fourth pilot training as part of the ERASMUS+ project will be held in October at the Police School in Słupsk.