Since the fall of communism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet states, the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) has provided law enforcement training and technical assistance to help stand up stable democracies in the region. Funding from the Support for East European Democracy Act and the Freedom Support Act—administered by the State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs—has supported ICITAP's work in fostering democracy and stability in this part of the world. More recently, ICITAP has received major program funding from the Millennium Challenge Corporation. ICITAP works with U.S. government counterparts, and international development and donor organizations to help countries throughout Europe and Eurasia combat terrorism, corruption, and organized crime.

Learn more about ICITAP's training and technical assistance programs in this region:

Albania
Since 1997, ICITAP has assisted in the development of Albania's police through a program that focuses on enhancing border management; increasing capabilities to combat organized crime; police training and academy administration; human resource management and professional accountability; and developing a sustainable information management system.

Armenia
ICITAP has provided training in civil disturbance management, combating domestic violence, and internal affairs development since 2003.

Azerbaijan
ICITAP assisted in the development of Azerbaijan's information management systems and provided first-responder and officer-survival training. Since 2004, ICITAP has had a full-time resident advisor in Azerbaijan to coordinate police training and technical assistance and serve as chief advisor to the U.S. Embassy on law enforcement matters.

Bosnia-Herzegovina
ICITAP's program in Bosnia-Herzegovina, which began in 1996, focuses on improving law enforcement capabilities, from the state level to the municipal-precinct level, to combat terrorism and organized crime. ICITAP is helping Bosnia-Herzegovina develop modern information management systems and specialized units to improve police response and immigration and border control. ICITAP has also introduced the task force concept to help Bosnia-Herzegovina law enforcement officials combat terrorism and other criminal activities, including narcotics smuggling, human trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, and organized crime. Since 1996, ICITAP has trained over 26,000 of the country’s enforcement officials in modern, democratic policing techniques with an emphasis on human dignity.

Bulgaria
ICITAP has worked with the Bulgarians since 2003 as part of the Regional Criminal Justice Initiative—an effort to improve coordination among police, prosecutors, and judges in the prosecution of criminal cases, including organized crime and corruption cases. ICITAP has also provided technical assistance in the development of community policing programs.

Croatia
ICITAP's program in Croatia began in 2000 with an assessment of the Croatia Police Academy. Since that time, ICITAP has worked with Croatian officials and international partners to develop police training programs that meet internationally recognized standards and help the Croatian government fight organized crime. ICITAP’s training and technical assistance program has supported the development of a witness protection program, a case tracking system for the Croatian prosecutor’s office, and a permanent informant-management system. ICITAP is currently assisting the Croatians in creating a fugitive task force based on the U.S. Marshals model.

Georgia
Since the Rose Revolution in November of 2003, ICITAP has provided Georgia's police academy assistance that includes management training and the development of standard operating procedures and curriculum.

Kazakhstan
ICITAP began work in Kazakhstan in the late 1990s as part of the effort to support law enforcement reform in the newly independent (former Soviet Union) states. ICITAP helped introduce community policing to Kazakhstan's law enforcement institutions and helped develop the police academy. Since 2005, ICITAP has provided technical assistance to law enforcement entities that combat trafficking in persons.

Kosovo
At the outset of the United Nations (UN) Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) in 1999, ICITAP seconded two senior police managers, charged with carrying out the training of new Kosovo Police Service, to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). ICITAP held the position of director of the Kosovo Police Service School for eight years, as well as contributed hundreds of instructors over that same period. Today, ICITAP is recognized by the new European Union mission (EULEX); the UN; the OSCE; and NATO’s peacekeeping force in Kosovo (KFOR), as the leading coordinator of police development in the country. ICITAP is assisting the Ministry of Interior and the Kosovo police in building their institutions, including border management and immigration services; training police and prosecutors to respond to organized and financial crimes; and the development of community policing.

Kyrgyzstan
Since 2004, ICITAP has provided assistance in Kyrgyzstan. ICITAP works with Kyrgyz authorities on a major anticorruption initiative that focuses on the traffic police. ICITAP also provides Kyrgyzstan's drug control agency technical assistance, including training in how to interview prospective employees to ensure their integrity. Counternarcotics is a major priority in Kyrgyzstan, a known transit point for drugs out of Afghanistan. A key component in this counternarcotics effort is the surveillance of Kyrgyzstan's borders by mobile interdiction teams (MOBITs). ICITAP offers MOBITs guidance that improves border security and increases drug seizures.

Macedonia
Since the end of interethnic conflicts in Macedonia in 2001, ICITAP has supported law enforcement reforms, as identified in the Ohrid Framework Agreement, with a focus on the development of a community-based police service. ICITAP held the position of deputy director of the Police Development Unit (PDU) for OSCE, which worked in close partnership with the Ministry of Interior and national police. ICITAP works closely with the national police and continues to foster collaboration among police, prosecutors, and investigative judges. ICITAP continues to focus on building the capacity of the Macedonian police to fight human trafficking and organized crime. ICITAP is also working closely with the Macedonian Border Police to strengthen the country’s ability to secure its borders.

Moldova
ICITAP is working with the Moldovans on anticorruption initiatives focused on the country's law enforcement institutions. This effort, begun in 2001, represents an important stepping stone for Moldova in demonstrating greater transparency and accountability.

Montenegro
Focusing on organized crime and trafficking in persons, ICITAP began supporting police development in Montenegro in 2005. ICITAP's training and technical assistance continues in law enforcement education reform and training, community policing, forensics, and the fight against organized crime and corruption.

Serbia
ICITAP began providing training and technical assistance to Serbia in 2004. ICITAP supported the development of a special organized crime unit in the Ministry of Interior and provided a training and certification program to help fight organized crime. Through training and equipment donations, ICITAP also supports the development of an antiterrorism unit and an undercover unit within Serbia's Criminal Investigation Directorate.

Tajikistan
ICITAP has provided assistance in police reform and institutional development in Tajikistan since 2004. Working with the State Department and other partners, ICITAP helped establish a drug control agency to enhance Tajikistan's antinarcotics trafficking effort. ICITAP has also provided training and technical assistance to help the country improve its intelligence analysis capabilities and has assisted in equipping and training forensics and border control professionals.

Ukraine
ICITAP is providing Ukraine assistance to improve its information technology capabilities through the development of software, hardware, and telecommunications. ICITAP's work, which began in 2004, is strengthening the capacity of Ukraine's law enforcement to fight trafficking in persons, and improve internal security and anticorruption efforts. ICITAP is also working on regulatory reform in trade and transportation issues and on helping the government of Ukraine develop an integrated information system for cross-border shipments.

U.S.–GUAM
ICITAP is developing a regional train-the-trainer program for investigators and law enforcement academies as part of the U.S.–GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova) Framework Program. The Organization of Democracy and Economic Development–GUAM—a key regional group of countries located between the Black and Caspian seas, and straddling the Near East and Eastern Europe—promotes cooperation within this strategic region. ICITAP has also provided technical assistance in the four GUAM countries to develop national interagency centers and connect them through a secure video and criminal information network.