“Not only have I learned how to teach, but also my self-confidence has increased. I believe that now I can do something good for other police officers by sharing my knowledge with them”, said a police officer with 20 years of experience after the Training of the Trainers course in Garowe.
A specialist course on teaching methodology and techniques, Training of the Trainers (TOT), took place 24-28 February in the EUCAP Field Office in Garowe, Puntland. The course was attended by Puntland policemen from Garowe, Bosasso and Eyl, including two Crime Scene Investigators who specialize in piracy-related cases, as well as one police woman from Garowe with a vast experience in Gender Based Violence and human trafficking cases.
The course was foremost designed to enhance the teaching capacity of the participants responsible for planning and delivering training to their fellow police officers. The TOT course taught the consecutive stages of a training project lifecycle, starting from the training needs assessment, through planning the agenda, selection of teaching techniques and tools and finally delivering the lessons.
Various teaching methods were exercised using fictitious case-study scenarios. The participants demonstrated their skills using a range of tools such as computer, whiteboard and flipcharts as well as practical demonstration, simulation, role-playing, and other techniques.
The training curriculum followed the adult teaching methodology developed by Europe’s New Training Initiative for Civilian Crisis Management (ENTRI) which is commonly used in CSDP Missions.
The course training team consisted of the Field Office staff, supported by UNSOM police officers and EUCAP Somalia colleagues from Mogadishu. The topics were tailored to be relevant to the everyday police activities and realities encountered in Puntland, like stop and search of motor vehicles; searching of houses and business premises and the seizure of evidence; basic crime scene inspection for patrol officers, including booby-trap (IED) awareness; Rules of Engagement for the use of deadly force and First Aid.
Guest presentations were delivered by the Puntland Bureau of Forensic Science covering forensic DNA analysis and ways to collect biological evidence at the crimes scene.
All matters that required legal explanation were discussed in the context of international legal standards, the domestic criminal procedure as well as sharia law. Special attention was paid to issues related to human rights and gender equality.
Eucup Nestar
