4.9 The OSCE Office in Yerevan Background The OSCE Office in Yerevan provides long-term support to the Armenian Police in developing democratic policing practices and implementing reform programmes. The overall aim of the Republic of Armenia (RA) Police Reform Programme is to increase trust and confidence in the police. The need for further strengthening police-public partnerships has been emphasized by the police leadership, and the Head of Police reiterated the importance of continued co-operation with the Office as the leading partner in the police reform process. The Office’s enhanced and broadened support to police reform focused on community policing; police education reform; co-operation of the police with the media, local authorities and civil society; as well as public order management. Gender issues remained one of the priorities and were mainstreamed through all police-related projects and the overall reform processes. Furthermore, the Office continued to promote its assistance to the Armenian Police within the scope of combating corruption, mainstreaming human rights, raising the involvement of women in law enforcement, and involving the population and civil society in monitoring police activities. This was carried out with a cross-dimensional approach with the Office’s Good Governance, Democratization and Human Rights Programmes in order to achieve the greatest possible outcomes. Police Reform In June, the Office facilitated the visit of three high-ranking policing experts from the UK Government's Stabilization Unit to Armenia. The visit was organized upon request from the Armenian Police, seeking international evaluation and support of the reform process. The experts had the opportunity to meet key police leaders of various strategic and operational levels and to get acquainted with the current state of affairs of the police reform programmes. Meetings also took place with a representative of the RA National Security Council overseeing the implementation of the reform process as well as with representatives of NGOs involved in police reform-related projects. The UK team worked closely with the Police Reform Unit, thoroughly reviewed the past phase of the reform and evaluated the proposals for the Police Reform Programme 2013 – 2014. At the end of the visit, the experts presented the preliminary findings and recommendations of the review, while the final report with the comprehensive analyses and recommendations was later submitted to the Armenian Police. It is noteworthy that one of the recommendations pertained to the establishment of an International Co-ordination Committee among international organizations accredited in Armenia, to facilitate the support extended to the Police by the international community. In general, the visit was of significant importance in terms of ensuring international support to the Armenian police reform efforts. Therefore, the Armenian counterparts greatly appreciated the work of the UK experts and viewed their recommendations as highly expedient and constructive. In November, as a follow-up to the UK expert visit, the Office organized a study tour to Belfast for police officials in charge of police reform. The aim of the trip was to familiarize the Armenian Police with the reform process in Northern Ireland, particularly with regard to the establishment and development of community policing, the educational process, as well as public order management. The programme included visits of and meetings with officials in several Police districts, the Northern Ireland Policing Board, the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland and the Police College, as well as the Police Federation of Northern Ireland. 118