14/06/2024

The Lithuanian Police School in Mastaičiai hosted the second pilot training as part of the Erasmus+ project Development of Joint Curriculum for First Responders on the Use of Force and First Aid Tactical Procedures (FIRST-TAC) from June 10 to 14, 2024. Along with the Lithuanian Police School, the project participants are the Police Academy Prvi hrvatski redarstvenik of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia, the Police School from Slupsk (Poland), and the Agency for Education and Professional Training.

The implementation of the project started in September last year. The experts from partner institutions jointly drafted a training curriculum for police officers that relates to the use of force tactics and techniques and tactical medicine, with the ultimate goal of improving and standardizing the performance of basic police officers when using force and providing first aid. The training curriculum was developed through the exchange of experiences and best practices, the harmonization of national programs of partner countries under the slogan "Saving lives - harmonized and standardized European policing".

After the independent online learning through the e-education system of the Police Academy Prvi hrvatski redarstvenik, for which it was necessary to set aside approximately eight hours, the training participants went through a practical five-day live training. This was an opportunity for them to refresh and improve their theoretical knowledge before coming to the practical part of the training, by studying the materials prepared for them, and by checking their understanding of these materials through a series of short quizzes.

International training courses of this kind are an opportunity to establish and strengthen a network of police experts, and professional and cultural exchange of all participants, developing a common European identity. All these are the goals of the Erasmus+ programme, from which this project, worth 250,000 euros, has been financed.

After this second pilot training, two more training courses are planned to be held: at the Agency for Education and Professional Training in Mostar in September and at the Police School in Slupsk in October this year, which will gather 48 new learners from the participating countries.