International training projects delivered by Police Scotland: FOI release

Information requested

A list of international training projects delivered by Police Scotland signed off by Scottish Ministers since April 1 2013. If possible I would like this information to include a breakdown of the country, year of project, minister responsible for signing off and level of risk determined for the project.

Response

Please find below a list of international training projects that have been signed off by Scottish Ministers since April 2013, for delivery by Police Scotland.

1. Malawi and Zambia – Gender Based Violence and Protection of Children Programme
2016, Scottish Government Minister for International Development and Europe signed off funding from the International Development Fund for 2016-19 for Police Scotland International Development Unit to deliver capacity strengthening work with the Malawi Police Service in the south of Malawi. This work formed part of the Scottish Government’s response to the Government of Malawi’s 2016-17 Food Insecurity Plan, with Malawi a development partner since 2005. The plan was developed as a result of the catastrophic flooding in that part of the country during the last 2 rainy seasons. The Police Scotland project sought to build capacity within the Malawi Police Service to:

• reduce violence, abuse and exploitation of children in disaster affected districts in the south of Malawi; and
• reduce the prevalence of gender based violence (GBV) among disaster affected communities.

In 2017/18, the Police Scotland work in Malawi was expanded to a two country approach, with neighbouring Zambia, also a Scottish Government international development partner country. The agreed aims were to support building capacity within the Zambian Police Force in order to:

• reduce violence, abuse and exploitation of children in Central Province, Zambia; and
• reduce the prevalence of GBV in Central Province.

2. Malawi and Zambia – Protection of Vulnerable Groups Programme
2019, Scottish Government Minister for Europe, Migration and International Development signed off funding from the International Development Fund for the next phase of the Police Scotland programme to be carried out in Malawi and Zambia. The Programme was now developing from its origins focused on Gender Based Violence and Child Protection to a new wider “Protection of Vulnerable Groups” Programme, with key strands to comprise of the workplan for 2019-22 to comprise:

• an Area Commander mentoring programme in Malawi and Zambia;
• the Police Scotland Youth Volunteers Global Citizen Challenge; and
• completion of the Police Scotland Information and Communication Technology (‘ICT’) project in Malawi to support GBV.

COVID-19 caused delays to implementation of elements of this Programme, from March 2020.

3. Zambia – ICT Programme to Support Gender Based Violence Recording/Investigation
2021, Scottish Government Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development signed off funding from the International Development Fund to modernise Information and Communication Technology (‘ICT’) systems used by Zambia’s Police Service to support recording and investigation of gender based violence (similar to the ICT project funded in Malawi in 2020).

Risk assessments for Police Scotland’s overseas work are carried out by means of an OSJA assessment. Please fine attached a link to the OSJA  guidance: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/overseas-security-and-justice-assistance-osjaguidance. For projects in Malawi and Zambia the OSJAs have been completed and signed off by Police Scotland, in line with the ‘Overall assessment and approval process’ set out in the guidance.

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