As part of this activity, education and training of employees of state institutions competent in the field of combating illegal handling of CBRN materials (CBRN specialists and members of intervention units) in the Slovak Republic and Ukraine is planned in order to improve their knowledge and skills in this area.
Education and training is planned as 8 courses for 20 Slovak specialists, 2 courses for 20 Slovak intervention units, 5 courses for 20 Ukrainian specialists, 1 course for 20 Ukrainian intervention units, 3 joint courses for 20 Slovak, 10 Ukrainian and 2 Norwegian specialists CBRN specialists.
As part of this activity, 5 intensive English language courses for 20 Ukrainian specialists will also be implemented.
A joint seminar for prosecutors and the judiciary of the Slovak Republic and Ukraine is also planned. The seminar will take place on the territory of the Slovak Republic and is planned for 25 Slovak and 15 Ukrainian prosecutors and / or judicial representatives.
The target groups of Activity 5 - Education and training are employees of institutions competent in the field of combating illegal handling of CBRN materials from the Slovak Republic, Ukraine - CBRN specialists, members of intervention units, prosecutors, judges, representatives of Norwegian competent institutions.
Seminars on the issue of illegal handling of CBRN materials will be organized for private companies dealing with legal handling of CBRN materials in the Slovak Republic. 3 seminars of 15 participants are planned.
Networking courses of Slovak and Ukrainian CBRN specialists
The project promoter organized 3 networking courses aimed at building joint capacities and contacts in the field of CBRN security between the Slovak Republic and Ukraine. All three courses were held near Michalovce in Slovakia on April 3-5, April 15-17 and April 17-19, 2024. On behalf of the Slovak Republic, representatives of the Department of hazardous materials and environmental crime (Slovak CBRN unit) from the eastern part of Slovakia (Košice and Prešov), representatives of the bureau of border and foreign police, Control chemical laboratories of Civil protection of the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak republic, the Fire and Rescue Service, Public Health Office of the Slovak Republic and the Financial Administration Criminal Office. On behalf of Ukraine, representatives of Ukrainian project partners - the International CBRN Risk Mitigation Research Centre, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and the Security Service of Ukraine - took part in the courses. The content of the workshop tackled the issue of CBRN materials and the crime scene management at the site of а CBRN incident. The purpose of the workshops was primarily to create and strengthen interdepartmental and international ties, share best practices and experiences, provide an overview of current trends and challenges in the field, and support understanding of the importance of global problems and cooperation in solving them. The courses also included practical demonstrations of the specialized capacities of the involved Slovak institutions. Networking courses were attended by 89 representatives of the above-mentioned institutions.
Seminars on the issue of illegal handling of CBRN materials for private companies
The project promoter organized 3 expert seminars on the issue of illegal handling of CBRN materials, in order to raise general awareness of CBRN safety, especially among private sector workers who legally handle CBRN materials as part of their work activities. One full-day seminar was held on April 19, 2024 in eastern Slovakia near Michalovce and was attended by 15 invited guests (from the companies US Steel Košice, TMS International Košice and HUMA-LAB Apeko and from the Department of Nuclear and Subnuclear Physics of P. J. Šafárik University in Košice) and two seminars were organized in Bratislava on April 25 and 26 with the participation of 30 invited guests (frist day representatives of the National Security Bureau of the Slovak Republic and the second day representatives of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the Comenius University in Bratislava, the Slovak Technical University and of private companies SOS Team Slovakia, NDB, s.r.o. and Akra Clean, s.r.o.). The purpose of these seminars was to raise awareness of illegal activities involving CBRN materials, as well as to provide a comprehensive understanding of the needs of law enforcement agencies in the CBRN area and to provide a platform for sharing experiences and best practices between law enforcement agencies and representatives of the private sector or specific government sector (in the case of National Security Bureau).
Joint seminar for prosecutors and the judiciary of the Slovak Republic and Ukraine
On May 20-22, a joint seminar organized by the project promoter for representatives of the prosecutor's offices of the Slovak Republic and Ukraine was held in the region of central Slovakia. The aim of this seminar was primarily to establish professional judicial cooperation in real cases of CBRN incidents at the cross-border Slovak-Ukrainian level. The main contents of the seminar were professional discussions and lectures, sharing of best practices obtained in criminal proceedings and practical demonstrations of Slovak police procedures in dealing with CBRN incidents. One of the supporting practical activities of this seminar was a mock trial involving illicit cross-border trafficking of CBRN materials. The seminar was attended by 25 Slovak and 15 Ukrainian specialists from prosecutor's offices.
Specialized CBRN security courses for members of the emergency response units of the Police Force
The project promoter organized two specialized CBRN security courses for members of the emergency response units of the Police Force. The content of these two courses, which were held in the region of Central Slovakia on May 13-15, 2024 and June 3-5, 2024, focused on the issue of coordination and cooperation of the tactical units in cases of high-profile CBRN incidents involving dangerous perpetrators, with special regard to the safety of the personnel involved. The purpose of the courses was practical training of the specialized activities of the tactical units of the Police Force in relation to the perpetrators of CBRN crimes, to the crime scene contaminated with CBRN materials, and training of the cooperation of the intervention units. A total of 40 members of the emergency response units of the Police took part in the courses.
Specialized CBRN courses for police officers of the Department of hazardous materials and environmental crime (Slovak CBRN Unit)
During the months of May and June 2024, as part of the implementation of the project, 8 specialized courses were held for 160 police officers of the Slovak CBRN Unit. The courses were organized in the form of a test version of accredited specialized police training for detecting and documenting CBRN criminal activity. The main goal of the organized educational activity was to deepen the theoretical knowledge of the police officers of the specialized unit to fight against CBRN crime, as well as to improve practical experience in the use of detection technology and personal protective equipment during simulated CBRN incident scenarios. In addition to theoretical lectures and discussions, the content of the courses included presentations of case studies from regional departments of the Slovak CBRN Unit and practical training of specialized police activities at the CBRN incident sites.