Interview with My Kreffe Olsson, Swedish Police Authority

1. Sweden is among the most important development partners of Moldova. SIDA implements projects in the most diverse fields, including democracy, human rights, the rule of law, police reform, market economy, climate change.  Since 2017, there is a nice collaborative relationship between the Swedish Police Authority and General Police Inspectorate. Could you let us know what results have been achieved till now? What challenges have been tackled? What are you working on now?

The Swedish Police Authority supports the General Police Inspectorate of the Republic of Moldova and the pilot sectors of Anenii-Noi, Buiucani, Cahul, Comrat and Singerei to implement police reforms in the areas of Community Policing and Police Conflict Management (Basic Tactics). The overall objective is to contribute to enhanced public trust in the police and improved safety and security in communities. 

We are focusing our support on mentoring/coachingof managers and staff, development of national documents and train the trainers so that the Moldovan Police will be self-sufficient in training and implementation when the Swedish support ends. For us it is important to work long-term and ensure local ownership. We have trained six national instructors in Community Policing who have held several trainings across Moldova. In March 2020 we started to train 14 new instructors in Community Policing to strengthen the instructor group. However, that training had to be cancelled and postponed due to the spread of covid-19. Another important progress is the establishment of the National Coordination Unit for Community Policing Activities responsible for the promotion and coordination of the model nationwide.

The training and coaching have resulted in an enhanced capacity of the police in pilot sectors to apply community policing principles in their everyday work. All sectors have developed their own implementation plans for community policing with support from Swedish experts. The sectors have in a structured manner started to identify crimes and problems that recurrently affect the local community, and to respond to these problems with preventive measures. A Local Security Council has been established in each sector. It consists of representatives of the police and the local administration and meets regularly to discuss current problems and security concerns in the sector. The pilot sectors have established good collaboration with local stakeholders, including schools, local mayors and social services, and a number of cooperation agreements have been drafted between the police and local stakeholders. Other examples of community policing initiatives are the establishment of neighbourhood watch groups, police volunteers and groups of guiding grandparents for traffic safety. 

In Basic Tactics we have trained 21 Police Officers to become national instructors. We also support them in the design and implementation of their own training for the Moldovan Police. In addition, we work together with the Moldovan Police to develop manuals to support the implementation of the concept in Moldova. The whole concept is based on creating a safe work environment and a professional police service. 

2. When police and community work together will result in a community policing. As we know, all kind of trainings on Community Policing and Police Conflict Management areas have been designed and carried out by Swedish experts. How Moldovan citizens benefit from all of this?

The whole Community Policing concept is based on the idea that the police should strengthen cooperation with the local community. The police and the local community should jointly identify needs and problems that the citizens experience in their everyday lives and jointly find solutions to the problems. Improved cooperation contributes to enhancing trust between the police and the citizens and in the long run it helps the police to develop better strategic and operational plans and to focus their resources on the right problems. In our pilot areas, we have supported the police to establish Local Security Councils. Through these Councils the police cooperate with other authorities and actors in the neighborhood to jointly analyze and solve problems. Many of the problems that the public refers to the police are not the responsibility of the police but rather of other authorities. In the Local Security Council, these problems are raised and the appropriate actors can take the responsibility to work together to solve them. This has proven to be very effective and together the actors solve prioritized problems. It builds bridges and creates collaboration throughout the whole society. 

In the Basic Tactics component we do not only work with interventions. We build a concept around intervention that includes stress management, conflict management, communication and mental preparation linked to tactical intervention such as stopping vehicles and searching buildings. We also place great focus on pedagogical education where the participants are trained to give and receive feedback. The educational environment is very important for continued learning and application of what the participants have been trained in. Basic Tactics is about enabling the police to act in a lawfully and secure manner, ensuring the safety of all involved parties. This will contribute to enhancing trust among citizens It will also create a safer working environment for Moldova´s police service. Participants who have completed the training emphasize that this training not only helps them to handle difficult situations at work but it also helps them in their private lives as they have learned the importance of communication. 

3. The Swedish Embassy in Chisinau promotes the involvement of women in various fields, including in policing, by supporting programs which objective is to attract as many women as possible in management positions, but also to encourage women embracing jobs that seem less appealing. What is the tendency when it comes to recruiting and retaining women in policing in Moldova?

Gender Equality is something that permeates our entire project, in everything from training to implementation.  As the area is important to us, in addition to our components, we have also had specific Gender Equality activities in the project. This issue is a priority in the Moldovan Police Development Strategy 2021-2027 and we have received a request from the MIA and GPI to develop a separate Gender Equality component in a potential new project starting 2021. The Swedish Police looks forward to working more long-term and strategically with the issue starting 2021. It is important to work long-term and structured from top management to the lower levels to create long-term changes in the organization. To be involved and support the Moldovan Police in this specific issue feels highly relevant in the face of our continued cooperation. 

4. You have been working in Moldova for about 2 years, what have you been enjoying in Moldova mostly? Is there anything that Swedes could learn from Moldovans?

I must say it´s an honor to follow the work of the Moldovan Police in Basic Tactics and Community Policing. It is also important to understand that these processes take time and must be given time. Rome was not built in a day. If you want to change the society, you need to win the hearts and mind of the people. You do not do that in one day. To be involved and support the Moldovan Police on their path is important and also a learning process for the Swedish Police. We learn from each other and we reflect a lot on our own work when we are put in a different context.  I also must say that I and my Swedish colleagues have been greeted with enormous hospitality from our Moldovan. colleagues. Where, in addition to our professional roles, we have exchanged cultural experiences from our countries. It makes us grow together. 

Thank you very much and best of luck.

Thank you very much for giving me the opportunity to tell you about our project.