Armenia: ICITAP Conducts First-Ever Police Training Officer Course

From February 28 to March 11, ICITAP conducted the first-ever Armenian Police Training Officer (APTO) course in Yerevan, Armenia for 81 officers of the newly-established Patrol Service of the Republic of Armenia. The course was held in two one-week sessions by two short-term ICITAP advisors. The APTO program was designed by ICITAP advisors as the first step in growing the philosophy of continuous learning within the Police. The newly-trained APTOs will be assigned to train new patrol officers starting their service in Yerevan. This 40-hour course instructed APTO’s in modern training methodologies used by police internationally. This course addressed the structure and processes of the APTO program as well as adult problem-based learning methods, problem-solving, leadership, and ethics. The Director of the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) office in Yerevan addressed the opening of the first class while the U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission and the Chief of the Armenian Patrol Service addressed the graduates of the second class and, in their remarks, charged the graduates with sustaining the professional standards of the service through mentorship of new officers.