Meeting in Riga

Upon the invitation of Riga Municipal Police the 2^nd meeting of Local Safety and Public Order Working Group was held on 13-15 October in Riga, Latvia.

From the left: Mr Andrejs Aronovs, Vice Chairman, Mr Czesław Dwojak, MrLeszek Walczak, Chairman, Mr Hans-Ivar Swärd, Vice Chairman.

Mr LeszekWalczak, the Chief of the Municipal Guard of Gdańsk, was elected as a Chairman for a two-year period. Mr Hans-Ivar Swärd, the Security Coordinator of Municipality of Nacka and Andrejs Aronovs, Head of Tourism Police Department of Riga Municipal Police were elected as Vice Chairmen.

The Statute of the Group was enacted. Four new cities, namely Jel-gava, Jūrmala, Liepājaand Panevėžys joined the Group.

"Public order and local safety" was the main theme of the meeting. During the panel discussion public consumption of alcoholic bever- ages and road safety among the youth were debated on. The participants presented howthe cities deal with the problem of drinking alcohol in public spaces and how they assure traffic safety standards for the youngest.

Also, the Group participated in the study tour to Riga's institutions responsible for the public order. The participants had an opportunity to see how CCTV network is organized and how the Municipal Police patrol works on daily basis.

The Group decided to work on city-experts routine. Five cities volunteered to prepare reports on assigned subjects: Vilnius - Illegal Graffiti; Gdańsk - Traffic Problems in the City Center; Nacka - Crime Prevention Among Youth; Botkyrka - Social Riots & Football Supporters; Riga - Safety for Tourists. The reports will be presented and discussed during the next meeting planned to be held in Vilnius, in April 2011.