Intercultural competence in the training and daily professional lives of police officers

Abstract This article explains the role of intercultural competence in the training and daily professional lives of police officers, and proposes ways to improve the acquisition of this competence. The goal is to describe intercultural competence, highlighting its importance and the possibilities for its acquisition in the training and professional everyday lives of police officers. The article uses general scientific methods – analysis of scientific literature and documents, as well as the induction–deduction method, drawing conclusions and making proposals, and (grammatical, historical, systemic, teleological) methods of interpretation of legal regulations, analysing applicable legislation and policy planning documents. The study concludes that the daily work of the police in today's environment requires good management and cultural awareness in dealing with residents, with the consequent development of intercultural competence among police officers as a prerequisite for successful performance and cooperation with different communities in a multicultural society. The acquisition and development of intercultural competence should be included in police training programmes, complementing professional standards as appropriate, and in professional development activities for police officers. At the same time, the structural changes in the State Police should be addressed, with responsible officers being identified to deal with culturally diverse populations, and professional models for police dealing with culturally diverse populations should be developed.