POLICE-RELATED ACTIVITIES OF FIELD OPERATIONS SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE and civil society. Both activities resulted from the Mission’s co-operation with the Mayor of Niš within the project “Safety Assessment in the City of Niš and Capacity Building of the City Safety Council”. This activity was part of the Mission’s wider efforts to promote a local approach to addressing safety issues through crime prevention. From 27 to 29 June, the Mission, together with the MoI, organized a training course for the first group of community liaison officers from the police stations of Prijepolje, Vrbas and Zemun. The course focused on community policing and problem-oriented policing, as well as communication and co-ordination skills. A trainer from the Basic Police Training Centre in Sremska Kamenica, together with a representative from the CSO “Belgrade Centre for Security Policy”, delivered a series of presentations on topics including gender equality and anti-discrimination. A total of 26 police officers participated in the training. This activity was part of the Mission’s efforts to develop an effective and accountable relationship between communities and police services through the implementation of the community policing concept. On 12 July, the Mission, together with the CSO “Association of Roma ‘Danica’ Pancevo”, organized a meeting with representatives from the Pancevo municipality police and the local self-government. Participants discussed ways to increase the safety of women, especially vulnerable categories of women including those with disabilities, minority groups, and victims of violence. In the period from 11 to 15 July, similar meetings were held in the municipalities of Zrenjanin, Becej, Novi Sad and Kikinda as part of the Mission’s project “Combating violence against women in five communities in Vojvodina”. The project aimed at fostering local protocols of co-operation in the targeted municipalities between local police, relevant CSOs that deal with issues related to the security of women, as well as the SOS Helpline of Vojvodina. One of the outcomes of this initiative was the protocol signed by the Mayor of Kikinda with the SOS helpline Vojvodina on inter-sector co-operation in the municipality Kikinda, which will contribute to increased institutional support in cases of urgent needs, especially related to women victims of violence. It is expected that this process will also be completed in Novi Sad and Pancevo, using the mechanisms of MSCs. This initiative was part of the Mission’s efforts to create an effective and accountable relationship between the community and the police service through the implementation of the community policing concept. On 7 September, the Mission organized, together with the CSO “Helsinki Committee for Human Rights”, a seminar entitled “Youth in Action against Extremism and Violence”, in Novi Pazar. The event focused on curbing extremist ideologies in the local context. Participants included some twenty young people, who discussed the importance of planning future awareness raising events aimed at countering extremist ideologies. Following the aforementioned seminar, the Mission organized an outreach event entitled “Let’s Close Ranks and Uproot Extremism”. Twenty young people, together with their parents, school pedagogues, psychologists and professors, participated in this initiative, which was aimed at raising awareness about issues related to violence in their local community. Both activities were part of the Mission’s efforts to support community-oriented approaches to counter VERLT, in close co-operation with the police, local self-governments and civil society. On 11 and 12 October, the Mission organized a training course for Niš Safety Council members. The event presented the concept, functioning and main purposes of the Council to its members. The Council members include seventeen representatives of the police, local self-government, prosecution, centre for social welfare, health institutions, schools, administration, media and CSOs. In addition, the Mission, together with the CSO “Media and Reform Centre”, presented the public perception survey on local safety commissioned by the Mission. This course was part of the Mission’s efforts to promote a local approach to safety issues through crime prevention embedded in the community policing concept. On 3 November, the Mission supported the French Embassy to Serbia, the Novi Pazar City Council and CSOs from southwest Serbia in organizing a seminar on preventing VERLT in Novi Pazar. Some twenty participants exchanged lessons learned and best practises regarding effective methods in tackling VERLT. A representative from the MoI delivered a presentation on community policing, and the French Embassy presented national and local approaches to combating VERLT in France. In addition, the Novi Pazar MSC and local CSOs offered a brief overview of measures used to counter radicalization at the local level. This activity was part of the Mission’s wider efforts to support community-oriented approaches to counter VERLT, in close co-operation with the police, local self-governments and civil society. 83