On June 5, 2012, Senior Law Enforcement Advisor Dennis Cosgrove from the U.S. Embassy’s International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Office (INL) and First Deputy Director General Vaisiddin Azamatov from the Drug Control Agency (DCA) under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan officially opened a two-day roundtable event for Press Center representatives from local law enforcement agencies and members of the press.
The roundtable at the DCA Headquarters in Dushanbe provided a unique opportunity for law enforcement press center staff to meet their media counterparts to discuss issues relating to the delivery of breaking news, the organization of press conferences, the handling of crisis communications, and the use of social media.
The roundtable also served as a refresher course for participants of last year’s Public and Media Relations course organized by INL and conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Office of Public Affairs representatives.
During the roundtable, U.S. Ambassador Ken Gross was interviewed as part of a role play scenario to demonstrate techniques for interviewing senior government officials in a “one-on-one” unrehearsed and informal setting.
The interview was recorded at the new DCA mini-studio and participants had the opportunity to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the scenario.
The event concluded a two-week visit of the FBI Office of Public Relations Special Assistant to the Assistant Director who was embedded at the DCA and worked closely with the DCA Press Center. To assist the DCA Press Center in keeping the public informed about their work and achievements, INL donated office equipment on the DCA”s 13th Anniversary ceremony on June 1, 2012.
INL has invited a second FBI Office of Public Affairs Supervisory Special Agent to work at the Ministry of Internal Affairs Press Center for the next two weeks (June 6-18, 2012) in a program similar to the FBI – DCA Press Office embedding project.
The U.S. Government is committed to supporting Tajikistan’s law enforcement agencies and justice sector institutions and will continue to collaborate with the Government of Tajikistan to ensure safety and security for all citizens.
Since 2003, the U.S. Embassy’s International Narcotics and Law Enforcement program has provided more than $52 million to support security and justice reform programs for the people of Tajikistan.
