DUSHANBE, September 23, 2013, Asia-Plus – The U.S. Embassy’s International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) Office, through its contractor The Emergence Group (TEG), and in close cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Tajikistan, completed an intensive six-week Women’s Empowerment Program (WEP) for female law enforcement officers.
According to the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe, the training took place at the Ministry of Internal Affairs Academy in Khujand, Sughd province from August 12 to September 20, 2013. The WEP reportedly aims to improve the skills of female police officers in dealing with domestic violence, suicide among women, youth violence, and human trafficking. The program also hopes to increase the number of women police officers and to enhance their operational role in Tajikistan’s law enforcement community. The eleven female police officers participating in the six-week training course are from varying positions and ranks within the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
These women police officers will form the First Police Bike Patrol Unit, as a way to increase law enforcement outreach to women and youth in the community and to encourage trust and respect between the police and the community. During the course, the police women were trained on twenty-two topics including specialized police bike riding techniques, behavioral profiling, working with special victims, proactive intelligence-led policing, domestic violence, crime scene investigation in violent crimes against women, gender issues, crisis management, sexual assault investigation, and other challenges facing women in law enforcement.
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 1992, the American people have provided over $1 billion in programs and humanitarian aid to support Tajikistan’s democratic institutions, health care, education and economic growth
