1 POLICE EDUCATION AT THE BULGARIAN ACADEMY OF THE MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR: MODERN DIMENSIONS Associate Professor PhD Mr. Veselin Vuchkov Associate Professor PhD Mr. Yordan Penev Deputy Minister of the Interior of Rector of the Academy of the The Republic of Bulgaria Ministry of the Interior

2 Civil Servants at the Bulgarian Ministry of the Interior: six categories CATEGORY ABCDABCD UNIVERSITY EDUCATION CATEGORY EFEF HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION Category A B C D E F

3 APPOINTMENT OF CIVIL SERVANTS AT THE MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR CATEGORY D:TWO APPROACHES APPOINTMENT OF CIVIL SERVANTS AT THE MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR CATEGORY D:TWO APPROACHES Bachelor degree at the Academy of the Ministry of the Interior – 4 years 120 people per annum Basic professional training – 9 months for people with university education

4 The Academy of the Ministry of the Interior as a University for professional education and training The Academy is a University established pursuant to a Decree of the National Assembly The Academy is accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Agency with the highest grade “very good” It provides training for acquisition of the educational qualification degrees of Bachelor and Master and the educational scientific degree of Doctor The capacity of the higher school at present is 2000 trainees for all three degrees of higher education

5 To provide according to the demands of the Ministry of the Interior and the civil public highly qualified education and scientific research in the area of combating crime, maintenance of public order, fire safety and protection of civilians

6 Basic and peripheral structural units The main intellectual activity of the Academy is carried out through two faculties in Sofia, the Police Faculty and the Firefighters’ Faculty, and four centres for education of civil servants with high school education in the cities of Pazardzhik, Kazanlak and Varna.

7 The Academy as part of the European area of higher education The Academy as part of the European area of higher education Compatible with related police and fire rescue educational institutions in: Germany (Higher Police School in Muenster for acquisition of Master’s degrees France, Spain (cooperation with universities in Paris and Madrid for providing Master’s degrees Norway (Police University College for Bachelors in Oslo) Slovakia (Police Academy in Bratislava for acquisition of Bachelor, Master and PhD degrees) and other EU countries

8 Grades of the high school education diploma Successful medical selection procedure Physical tests Psychological tests IQ test

9 Bachelor education – regular and extramural forms, three areas of specialization 1. 1.Countering crime and protection of public order 2. 2.Fire and emergency rescue 3. 3.Crisis management

10 Master’s education – five areas of specialization 1.Countering crime and protection of public order 2.Strategic guidance and management of security and public order 3.Public administration 4.Protection of national security 5.Firefighting and emergency rescue

11 Doctor’s education Three areas of higher education, six professional areas and eight accredited specialized scientific research areas 1.Labour safety techniques and firefighting techniques 2.Civilian protection and protection of the national economy in crisis situations 3.Organization and management outside the sphere of material production (national security) 4.Criminal law 5.Criminal proceedings 6.Forensic science 7.Criminology 8.Psychology of police work

12 The three main pillars of good education Providing new knowledge Interactive education Good material conditions and educational services

13 INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION The Academy is the contact point with: the European Police College CEPOL The Association of European Police Colleges AEPC and The European Fire Safety Colleges Association EFSCA.

14 INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVES The project JLS/2007/ISEC/FRA/C1/020 „Standardized training for financial investigation of organized crime and terrorism” in the framework of the programme of the European Commission on Crime Prevention and Countering Crime The project “Trafficking in Human Beings in Bulgaria and the Netherlands – Common Efforts in Counteraction” The conference “A changing world: young people and online risks” Meeting of the representatives of police training institutions from the participating countries in the framework of the Convention for Police Cooperation in South East Europe Project EU-SEC II „Coordination of national security programs in mass public events of large scale in Europe”

15 ACADEMIC CAREER DEVELOPMENT pursuant to the Law on Development of Academic Staff in the Republic of Bulgaria ASSISTANT PROFESSOR CHIEF ASSISTANT PROFESSOR ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR PROFESSOR

16 Bachelor Police Education its duration is 4 years the volume of the auditorium work amounts to 3000 hours a total of 240 educational credits are acquired education is completed after passing state examinations in criminal law and in special police subjects Obligatory 28 subjects of study: General legal and social subjects Criminal law Special police subjects Sports and languages The general legal and social subjects of study include: General theory of law Constitutional law Administrative law and administrative proceedings Civilian law - common law, material law, law of obligation, family law Protection of human rights Financial and taxation law Professional psychology Police management The subjects of study in the field of criminal law are: Forensic science Criminal law Criminal procedure law Criminology Special police subjects of study include: Police law Maintenance of public order Traffic control Surveillance and control of the state border Operational and tactical skills Basic police operational work Operational work for combating conventional crime Operational work for combating economic crime Combating organized crime European police cooperation The group of sports and language studies includes: Self-defense and physical training Shooting Para-medical help and English

17 Basic police training for civil servants with higher education Volume - proportionately reduced in order to fit into the nine-month period Content of the study arranged in modules – a basic module (6 months) and a specialized module (3 months) Modules in the specialization stage - different with a view of the specifics of the various fields of police work

18 5 fields of specialized studies for police officers Countering conventional crime Countering economic and organized crime and crimes in border zones For protection of public order – patrol work, traffic control, control of hazardous materials For protection and control of the state border For countering criminal behavior of minors and juveniles

19 Interactive and practical training training based on the rules of adult education theory aims at involving adults into the process of training work with groups of trainees, combined with follow-up discussions among the groups, case solving, role plays simulating typical police situations and analysis afterwards Internships, practical tasks and other forms of participation of trainees in police work In the four-year bachelor curriculum there are a total of six internships, one month each, in police structures for protection of public order and combating crime In the nine-month basic training there are two internships, two weeks each

20 Cooperation between the Academy and police structures aiming to improve professional education and training Participation of active police officers with great experience in the process of study Joint elaboration of study materials - every year working groups are established where lecturers and practitioners participate who develop toolkits and materials for the purposes of teaching Participation of lecturers in developing draft laws and by-laws - lecturers from the Academy participate on a regular basis in working groups on updating existing legislation or creating new legislation Ongoing exchange of information, analyses and data on specific cases aimed at updating the process of study. Practice in the field of applied science of lecturers form the Academy in the police services. Its duration is from 2 weeks to 1 month and its purpose is to keep the academic staff updated about the current problems of the police services.

21 THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!