Police and Communities Working Together for Safer Communities

On December 15, residents of Mirmahmudov ail-okmotu, Osh Oblast, will celebrate the opening of their Local Crime Prevention Center (LCPC). The center, built collaboratively between the community, local government authorities and police, is a place where they will all come together to discuss and resolve neighborhood safety and security issues. It is important to note that the local administration covered almost 30% of the total costs of the renovation works from its own budget. The United States Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL), through its implementer Saferworld and Foundation for Tolerance International (FTI), encourages, supports, and promotes the project. We are delighted to see the project unify and galvanize residents and police to work together to make their neighborhood a calmer, safer place.

The LCPC is part of the Community-Based Policing program, which contributes to wider efforts by the government of the Kyrgyz Republic and the international community to improve the provision of security to, and relationships with, communities. The program seeks to establish and strengthen trusting, respectful, inclusive partnerships between the police, local government, and communities and encourage them to proactively find solutions to address the drivers of insecurity and conflict before they become violent and destabilizing.

Saferworld’s community-based security approach is about helping to make sustainable improvements to people’s experiences of safety and security. It focuses on understanding what makes communities feel insecure and finding locally appropriate ways of responding to these causes. Working with local partners, Saferworld is supporting people in targeted communities in Southern Kyrgyzstan to identify and prioritize their safety and security needs and to address them.