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Policemen Training Program
Security forces certainly know how to use their guns. But where do
they acquire how to deal with the public in a friendly, cooperative way?
Where do they gain basic communication skills and where do they learn
how to solve a conflict without using force? Palestinian security
forces are loyal to their people and committed to helping their
countrymen - yet, in the current conflict situation that affects daily
life so much, commitment alone is not enough to serve the public.
Between 1996 and 1999 several freelance conflict resolution trainers,
some of whom now working at CCRR, set up a program to train policemen,
members of the security forces and government employees how to better
deal with the public. The program was implemented in cooperation with
various institutions such as Panorama. In Hebron, Bethlehem, Abu Dees,
Jericho, and Ramallah the trainers reached at least 200 Palestinian
members of the security forces, focusing on:
Introduction to conflict resolution skills and methods
Relations/conflicts between the different bodies of the security
apparatus
Effects of internal conflicts on the public
Relations with the public
Different methods of dealing with people
Each workshop consisted of ten sessions, resulting in an overall
total of 30 training hours. Providing the participants with a set of
techniques of how to deal with people proved to be very successful. The
security personnel, who at the beginning of the meetings were quite
often reluctant to participate, came to regard the tools as very useful
because they allowed them to speak out freely, and to reduce their daily
stress. Some of the security men stated that, as they changed their
behavior, the people reacted to them in more positive
ways, too.....
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