An hour of planning can save you 10 hours of doing, said an author pioneering training courses at the beginning of the last century.

Adequately planning activities jointly with the Palestinian Civil Police (PCP) is key for EUPOL COPPS, not least to ensure no duplication or overlapping with other EU and international actors engaging on the security sector and Rule of Law in Palestine occurs.

This is one of the reasons why EUPOL COPPS advisors brainstormed with their PCP colleagues at the Palestine College for Police Science in Jericho on 04/11.

A Citizens Academy and Foot Patrol training were among the Community Policing topics discussed.

Keeping the streets in Palestine safe for the citizens and trust building are the main goals of the European and Palestinian officers working together, despite the long-standing difficult circumstances. For the purpose, as discussed in Jericho, the Citizen Academy is about building relationships between residents and the police, one meeting on a several weeks program so that PCP officers and citizens get to know each other as people, regardless of their professional roles. The officers tell their own stories, where they come from and why they became police officers and the residents share their everyday life and their experiences of the police, good and bad. Then they swap roles. Residents step into the officer’s shoes and make decisions with too little information and too little time, while officers play the citizen on the other side of the encounter. That exchange of experiences is where understanding grows, on both sides.

Foot patrols are more than seen on the street. It is about small encounters, how an officer says good morning, explains a decision, stays calm when someone is angry, calming situations before they escalate. In this kind of training officers practice, including making mistakes, reflecting and trying again, to then taking the gained knowledge out on patrol.

As such, with time and resources saved for both Palestinians and Europeans thanks to meaningful planning ahead, making Palestinian streets safer is a step closer.