On behalf of the German Federal Foreign Office (AA), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is supporting the Palestinian Civil Police (PCP) with the programme “Strengthening of Police Structures, Phase IV” (SPS), commissioned from October 2018 to September 2020. The main objective of the programme from its inception in 2010 is to enable the PCP to provide citizen-oriented services based on professional standards and to contribute actively to security and law enforcement. The measures are carried out in close coordination with the Palestinian Ministry of the Interior (MoI) in cooperation with the PCP as a major partner. 

During Phase II until 2015, piloting a newly developed organizational model at four community police stations (CPS) set the foundation for applying a uniform structure throughout the West Bank as well as for reviewing the CPS training course in the Palestine College for Police Sciences (PCPS). Beginning with the third phase of the programme in 2016, advancing the community policing approach has continued and was expanded to developing training courses, incl. the leadership level. With support from GIZ, the PCP has already transferred the community-oriented organizational model to more than 50 CPS in the West Bank, while the city and district stations are set to be targeted during Phase IV. In a parallel initiative launched in the district of Tulkarem in winter 2016/17, a mobile police station (MPS) was piloted as an innovative tool to increase patrolling in remote areas. Given the successful outcome of this pilot, the roll-out of a total of eleven newly designed vehicles to all districts in the West Bank has started at the end of 2017, with six MPS already operating by now.

Engaging with local communities to develop and promote public safety and civic responsibility among citizens is one of the core tasks of the PCP. As a result, one of the organizational development model outputs was developing Memoranda of Understanding (MoU). Numerous MoUs were signed between the PCP and local community actors and local committees were then established to ensure the implementation of the MoUs to strengthen the collaboration between PCP and local community and to enhance the concept of Community Policing among frontline police officers. However, many communities faced challenges over time to sustain a level of meeting frequency and follow up on commitments. 

The aim of this is assignment is to develop and enhance the cooperation mechanism between the PCP and local communities on four different levels:
1. The level of the CPPCs: make them more representative of the local community and inclusive of different segments, ages, backgrounds, etc.; and build their capacities in the fields relevant to their roles (accountability and its tools, and conflict resolution methods). 
2. The level of the involved police: improve the police’s knowledge and understanding of the role of the CPPCs and their role in building trust with the local community through a better understanding of the concepts of accountability and conflict resolution.
3. The level of the local community: raise the public’s awareness about the CPPCs and their role, the MoUs and the commitments of all parties, and about the citizen’s role in supporting the CPPCs and supporting the police.
4. The level of the MoUs implementation: offer a model for the activities that the CPPCs and the police may implement with the local community that assists them in fulfilling their commitments in the MoUs, as well as assist them in developing a vision for the future action for the implementation of the MoUs.