Ukraine: ICITAP Expands Police Mentoring Project to Northeastern Ukraine

On August 9, ICITAP law enforcement advisors concluded a week of training for the Mentoring Training Officer Project (MTOP) with 36 participants of the Kharkiv Patrol Police Department. After being selected from 76 officers who applied, the officers represent the second group of trainees in the new ICITAP-developed program that seeks to provide competent field training for new Patrol Police Officers after they graduate from basic training at the Patrol Police Academy. During this training, future mentors learned about the field training model, mentorship methodology, adult learning theory, journaling, and reporting that they will rely on as they work with their assigned officer in the field to build on the skills and knowledge they learned in the Academy. After the first iteration of the MTOP mentor training at the Kyiv Patrol Police Department in May, followed by the pilot of the field training program from May through July, ICITAP used survey-based data to adapt and improve this second wave of the program at the second location in Kharkiv in Northeastern Ukraine. The third wave of the program will take place at the Kyiv Patrol Police Department in September. The MTOP enjoys strong support of the leaders of the Kyiv and Kharkiv Patrol Police, as well as the leaders of the Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs where the training was held. In Ukraine, ICITAP implements the Mentoring Training Officer Project with the support of and in coordination with the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (State/INL).