Closing conference of the Erasmus+ FIRST-TAC project held at the Police Academy – The First Croatian Police Officer

On 29 April 2025, the final conference of the Erasmus+ project FIRST-TAC, Development of Joint Curriculum for First Responding Police Officers on the Use of Force and First Aid Tactical Procedures, was held at the Police Academy - The First Croatian Police Officer.
The project was funded by the Erasmus+ programme, Key Activity 2 (KA220), Vocational Education and Training, with a total budget of 250,000 euros. Ministry of the Interior, Police Academy - The First Croatian Police Officer, implemented it with its partners: the Police School in Slupsk, Poland, the Lithuanian Police School and the Agency for Education and Professional Training, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The main objective of the Erasmus+ FIRST-TAC project was to develop a joint curriculum for police officers in the field of tactics and techniques for the use of force and tactical medicine. The programme is accompanied by a handbook with teaching and learning materials - lesson plans and marking rubrics, video materials with demonstrations of tactics and techniques, etc. The ultimate goal of the project is to improve and standardise the conduct of first responding police officers when using force and providing first aid, through the exchange of experiences and the harmonisation of national programmes of the partner countries.
Furthermore, four pilot trainings were carried out within the project, during which the programme and handbook were refined and improved. Pilot trainings were organized as a blended learning activity - with online pre-learning through the virtual classroom and face-to-face practical exercises.
In addition, online train-the-trainers workshop programme was developed, in order to enable trainers to improve their teaching skills, specifically those needed for the implementation of the new curriculum - demonstration, role play and simulation, as well as providing feedback.
At the closing conference of the Erasmus+ project FIRST-TAC, project coordinators from the partner institutions presented the results of the project - new curriculum, handbook with teaching and learning materials, virtual classroom, online train-the-trainers workshop, and the project website, where all the mentioned materials and other information about the project, project partners and activities are stored.
The representatives of all partner institutions and representatives of the Croatian Police Directorate attended the closing conference of the Erasmus+ FIRST-TAC project. Present were the representatives of other first responding services of the Republic of Croatia - the Fire Brigade and the Civil Protection Directorate - as well as the Ministry of Justice, Administration and Digital Transformation.
“When we talk about police tactics in the use of force and the tactical medicine, we are talking about extremely sensitive and complex topics,” said Josip Ćelić, the Head of the Police Academy - The First Croatian Police Officer, adding that professional literature that brings together best practices, clear procedures and concrete guidelines is therefore very much needed. “This manual that we are presenting today is the result of systematic work, exchange of experiences and harmonization of different approaches of partner institutions from Croatia, Poland, Lithuania and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Our ultimate goal was - and remains - to standardize procedures and strengthen the professional competencies of those who are the first to arrive at the scene. Therefore, I would like to thank all partners, experts and participants of the FIRST-TAC project for their great effort and a job well done.”



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