PURPOSE

A part of the power of a society lies in the willingness of citizens to make the change. The program of Operational Team for Safety in Community Safety (OTSC) creates an environment for local citizens to be constructively engaged with other institutions in order to address and solve the issues and local concerns. Justice Department of the United State of America, Bilateral Program of assistance in the trainings for Criminal Investigations (ICITAP) through its program of the Policing in Community, in 2003 has drafted the OTSC program. Together with the international partners and a host of local officers, OTSC program was designed in that way that methodologically engage and establish the volunteer teams from the community, police and local government officers in order to work jointly and identify, assign priorities and find joint solutions for the problems of community safety such as; crime, safety, freedom of movement and livelihood. The OTSC program is based in principles of the Policing in Community where “police is people and the people are police” and tries to build new links and support the local governance. The citizens who work jointly toward a common goal and develops the respect and trust for each other by building a strong base and from which, various local challenges of community safety may be addressed jointly.

PARTICIPATING COMMUNITIES UNDERSTAND THAT BENEFITS ARE NUMEROUS, SUCH AS;

–              Raising awareness on issues and current concerns about safety in the community – to raise awareness of joint activities involving the community, the police and the municipality, –       More clearly defined roles for members of society regarding reducing of crime, increasing the level of security and improving the life conditions, – Improved communication with community, police and municipality and – Better skills in solving the problem.

The operational teams for Community Safety work closely with the law enforcers and municipal authorities, since some OTSC members may be civilian servant, one OTSC member attempts and contributes voluntarily for the benefit of community.