POLICE-RELATED ACTIVITIES OF FIELD OPERATIONS
EASTERN EUROPE
Activities Related to Threats
Posed by Criminal Activity
traffickers of human beings. A two-day co-ordination
meeting was held for civil society and government partners
working on the NRM in 13 regions, and approximately 6,200
stakeholders were trained by NGO implementing partners in
various aspects of combating trafficking.
Organized Crime
The PCU led the establishment of a working group on
improving risk assessment and risk management in
combating transnational organized crime. The working group
will produce a methodological handbook that integrates a
human-rights based approach based on Europol standards
and practices.
In May, the PCU organized a workshop in Uzhgorod and a
study tour to the OSCE in Vienna for security service press
officers, with a focus on improving their communications
during emergencies and supporting press rights.
Financial Investigations,
Anti-Money Laundering and
Seizures of Criminal Proceeds
In November and December, the PCU and UNODC cooperated in supporting the second round of a two-week
training on strategic and operational analysis of financial
crimes, delivered by Anacapa Sciences Incorporated. Some
50 financial investigators attended the training, which took
place in Odessa.
Trafficking in Human Beings &
Migration-related Crime
In February, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a new 20162020 State Social Programme on Combating Trafficking in
Human Beings. The PCU supported the development of the
programme, which includes features specific to the conflict
in Ukraine. Additionally, the Ministry of Social Policy and
the National Police signed an agreement, developed with
support from the PCU, to co-operate in combating trafficking
in human beings.
The PCU supported four meetings of an inter-agency
working group on co-ordinating and developing a policy
for a co-ordinated response to trafficking in human beings.
These meetings prompted the high-level Inter-Agency Coordination Council on Family Issues to reconvene in March
to examine the national anti-trafficking response following a
five-year break.
NGO implementing partners of the PCU continued
supporting multidisciplinary groups in 13 regions in the
implementation of the NRM to combat trafficking in human
beings. The groups include police, social-service providers,
employment centres, legal aid providers and others, who
provide a wide range of assistance to victims and prosecute
The PCU helped develop a module on identifying and
intervening in possible trafficking cases within the NRM,
which will be included in the teachers’ standard professional
development curriculum.
To improve public awareness on human trafficking and victim
assistance during the Global and European Anti-Trafficking
Days and International Day for Abolition of Slavery, the PCU
helped Ukrainian Ministries of Social Policy and of Interior
produce and distribute more than 1 million leaflets, booklets,
posters, stickers and manuals, and displayed around 400
billboards and posters with celebrities featuring warnings on
the risks of trafficking.
Together, each of these efforts resulted in 110 persons being
registered as victims of human trafficking in 2016, compared
to 83 victims registered in 2015. 2016 was also the first year
where the number of human trafficking victims receiving
social status and assistance within the NRM was higher
than the number of victims registered by the police (69).
This demonstrates that Ukrainian state NRM stakeholders
follow the human rights approach they have been taught in
numerous trainings, including those conducted by the PCU.
From July to December, the PCU led the development and
implementation of a 98-hour re-training programme for reattested anti-trafficking police units. Following the approval
of the training curriculum by the National Police, the PCU
facilitated the development of training materials with
police and civil society experts to ensure a victim-centred
and human rights oriented approach across all materials.
The training focused on investigative techniques used in
human trafficking crimes, the role of the police in the NRM,
misuse of information technologies by criminals and the
peculiarities of working with victims who find themselves in
severe psychological distress. Additionally, the programme
explored the community policing approach in preventing and
investigating human trafficking crimes through co-operation
with local communities and civil society organizations, as
well as links between human trafficking and crimes including
smuggling of migrants and sexual exploitation. 250 folders
with the training materials were printed and delivered to
Kyiv University of Internal Affairs, where the re-training
of 200 police officers took place. 97,6% of trainees scored
“pass” or higher. The training assessment showed that on a
scale from 1 to 10, the average trainee score for quality of
training materials was 9.1 and the average score for trainers’
99
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents