ERASMUS+ Mobility in Poland – a Rewarding Experience

Students of Lithuanian Police School (LPM) have the opportunity to take part in mobility projects in other countries under the Erasmus+ international exchange programme. During the traineeships, the future officers not only gain knowledge and experience useful for the service, but also broaden their horizons, improve their teamwork skills, foreign language skills, and make international acquaintances. A group of eight LPM cadets visited the Police School in Slupsk in Poland for two weeks as part of the exchange programme. The LPM delegation was warmly welcomed and looked after during their stay by the Head of the Presidium Department of the Police School in Slupsk Capt. Michal Jaskovski and his colleagues.

“Participation in the programme enriched the knowledge acquired at LPM, allowed us to get to know the specifics of police work in another country from a closer perspective, and to meet new and interesting people. All the experiences we have gained are growing: we analyse, compare, consider what could be applied in our work when we return to Lithuania”, Matas Barkevičius, the LPM cadet, who participated in the mobility project shared his experience. During the joint lectures with the Polish Police School students, Matas was perhaps most impressed by the first aid training: it uses modern mannequins, and the lectures involve stressful situations that are not immediately handled. “When the adrenaline is running high from the stress created, and when placing the tourniquet, the ‘blood’ starts gushing, you have to concentrate on doing your job quickly and accurately,” said Matas, reflecting on his impressions.

The cadets learnt about the history of the Polish Police School, the process of training officers, gained more practical experience in the simulation rooms, got acquainted with the techniques and equipment used by the Polish police and the professional tactics applied, as well as with the cynology service.

On several days of the programme, the cadets patrolled with Slupsk police officers. Mr Jakub Baginski, a spokesperson for the Slupsk City Police Station, summed up the benefits of the measures: “The joint patrols with the Slupsk police officers introduced the Lithuanian police cadets to best practices, as well as to the common features and differences between the structures of the two countries, including in the field of tactics and intervention methods. The joint patrols are also an opportunity to observe the work of Polish police officers, which in the future may help Lithuanian officers during the joint international patrols that have been in place on both sides of the Polish-Lithuanian border for several years.”

“It’s a great experience to be part of the Erasmus+ programme! I am really happy to have had the opportunity to enrich my personal culture, to step out of my comfort zone, to know, experience, learn and meet new people. We have learnt the peculiarities of the Polish police, we have realised that we will be able to cooperate well if we have to patrol together in border areas or in other unforeseen situations. We could even work in the same crew,” the cadet Alginta has no doubts.

Within the framework of the Erasmus+ mobility project “Development of Professional Skills of Lithuanian Police School Cadets and Staff”, which is being implemented by Lithuanian Police School, in 2022-2023, the school’s cadets and lecturers are going on a training course to educational institutions of Poland, Germany, and France.

Last updated: 25-09-2023

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