local police taking ownership and implementing their own projects tackling specific local issues in 2013, again with Mission support During the year, the PDD’s PA Teams were called upon to provide assistance and advice after a number of particularly concerning events. The Mission, being the only international organization with a country-wide field presence in the Host country, was able to utilize its resources and information as part of the first stage of the Mission’s early warning function (as per the CPC guidelines on early warning). Inter-ethnic tensions had heightened after a number of events, such as the Vevcani Carnival in January, and the killing of two ethnic Albanians by an ethnic Macedonian off-duty Border Police Officer in February. In both instances, the PDD’s PA Teams closely followed the situation by advising and liaising with police and local authorities and communities in order to prevent the escalation of tensions. The killing of five ethnic Macedonian males in Skopje in April and the subsequent operation by the police entitled “Monster” also resulted in heightened inter-community tensions and led to demonstrations across the country. The PDD’s PA Teams closely monitored the subsequent police response including the police’s ‘Operation Monster’ as well as public reaction to the murders. The PDD’s PA Teams, in co-ordination with the Monitoring Unit were also involved in observing protests throughout the country, led by the main opposition political parties following disagreement over the passing of the 2013 budget in Parliament in December 2012. In co-ordination with local (police and self-government) authorities, the PDD built upon the success of a project against school violence implemented by the PDD in the Kumanovo region in 2011. It extended the project “Safe Schools – Harmonious Environment” for the school year 2012-13, in a cross-departmental approach with the Mission’s Good Governance Department/Education Reform Unit. The project aimed to support the MoIA, the Ministry of Education and Science, local self-government units and Local Prevention Councils in creating a sustainable prevention-orientated school safety model to contribute to the overall safety and help reduce violent incidents and behaviour, including inter-ethnic intolerance among young people in secondary schools. The project brought together teachers, students, parents, police, social services and other concerned community members to jointly address the issue of school safety by ensuring the active involvement of students and creating a sense of shared responsibility. 28 secondary schools and one primary school from nine multi-ethnic municipalities from across the country were involved: two in Skopje (Butel and Gazi Baba); and one each in Tetovo, Ohrid, Struga, Gostivar, Kicevo, Bitola, and Makedonski Brod. The PDD’s Police Advisers organized LPC meetings in the involved municipalities, which appointed local project co-ordinators and established Working Groups in order to enable the passing of ownership and responsibility of the project to local communities. Given the success of the project, the MoIA planned to support follow-up activities to the project in 2013 to implement more measures to improve safety in schools. These activities also aimed to involve an increased number of schools and municipalities. In 2012, the PDD also organized the 2012 Public Perception Survey on Policing which evaluated citizens’ perceptions and attitudes toward the police and vice versa. The survey was initiated by the PDD at the request of the MoIA to identify areas of progress and trends as well as areas of concern in the police service. This was the 6th such survey conducted jointly by the Mission and the MoIA in the past ten years. The Minister of Internal Affairs stated the value of the survey in helping the police gain a better understanding of the perceptions of the police service by citizens, thus improving the service and contributing to increased confidence of citizens in the police. The survey was also expected to contribute to the MoIA’s strategic planning. At this planning level, the PDD, jointly with the MoIA, hosted a round table meeting to discuss prevention achievements in the country on 21-22 June. Building on the activities of the PDD in 2011 to advance the capacities of the MoIA in media relations, a regional conference on “Public Relations in Modern Policing” took place on 16-17 October, jointly organized with the US ICITAP. The conference facilitated the sharing of best 99