Municipalities today

Pernik has been named one of the pilot municipalities in a new Swiss-backed program focused on enhancing public safety and crime prevention in Bulgaria. A working meeting was recently held in the city as part of the program’s first monitoring mission. The event brought together the Mayor of Pernik, Stanislav Vladimirov, with Thomas Stauffer, Head of the Swiss Cooperation Office, and Denitsa Boeva-Velichkova, National Program Coordinator.

This week, representatives from the Swiss Cooperation Office visited the three pilot regions - Pernik, Pazardzhik, and Montana. These are the first areas where Bulgaria’s Ministry of Interior is implementing a new model of community policing with both financial and expert support from the Swiss-Bulgarian Cooperation Program.

During the visit, participants discussed local-level challenges related to the implementation of the program, as well as the importance of youth engagement. The Swiss delegation emphasized the critical role of municipalities in achieving long-term, sustainable results.

The program, carried out in partnership with the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Bulgaria, focuses on two key areas: “community-based policing” and juvenile crime prevention. In Pernik, the community policing model will be introduced with the goal of strengthening the relationship between law enforcement and citizens and building greater public trust in institutions.

“Building trust in the police and local institutions can only be achieved through direct and positive engagement,” said Thomas Stauffer. “The first step must be to identify the specific needs and expectations of all communities in the pilot regions.”

The Swiss Federal Police Office will also be involved in the program, providing expert support and sharing best practices from Switzerland’s own experience with community policing.