The President of Uzbekistan visited the new building and was briefed on the educational and scientific activities of the Law Enforcement Academy of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

The Academy was established based on the Academy of the Prosecutor General’s Office in accordance with the decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan of November 28, 2022, “On the introduction of a fundamentally new system for training qualified personnel in crime investigation”.

Over a short period, the academy has transformed from a narrowly specialized educational institution into a full-fledged specialized higher education and research institution with a continuing education system, providing training for prosecutorial and investigative bodies under a unified approach.

The Academy’s faculty and management staff comprise qualified specialists with practical experience in prosecutorial and law enforcement agencies, as well as in research and expert institutions.

Over the past period, the Academy’s campus infrastructure has been progressively expanded: a new five-story administrative building, a modern dining hall, a hotel, and a co-working space for students have been constructed, while the conference hall and library have been completely renovated.

Additionally, two academic buildings and two dormitories have undergone significant renovations, doubling the student capacity. Construction of outdoor and indoor sports complexes is underway.

To ensure a strong link between theory and practice, twelve specialized facilities have been established, including forensic training areas, special halls for courtrooms, interrogation and lineup equipped with Gesell mirrors, a cyber range, and laboratories for “darknet” and forensic analysis.

The Academy has implemented a two-tiered higher education system comprising bachelor’s and master’s programs. Starting from the 2023/2024 academic year, for the first time in the country, bachelor’s programs in “Investigative activities” and “Prosecutorial activities” have been launched. A new bachelor’s program in “Cyberlaw” is planned to open next year to train cyber-prosecutors and cyber-investigators focused on combating cybercrime.

The master’s program trains specialists in “Investigative activities” and “Prosecutorial activities”, as well as in fields unique to the national education system, such as “Anti-Corruption activities” and “International human rights law”. Beginning in the 2025/2026 academic year, a master’s program in “Legal provision for cybersecurity” will launch.

A fundamentally new professional development system has been introduced to ensure that employees of prosecutorial and investigative agencies receive at least one training session every three years.

A new system has been established to retrain senior officials of prosecutorial agencies, provide initial specialization for recruits, and retrain inquiry officers and investigators from authorized bodies.

Distance and blended learning courses are widely used, along with an elective training model tailored to staff’s individual needs. This enables every employee to continuously enhance their skills throughout their careers through a personalized educational path.

Distance and blended learning courses based on artificial intelligence technologies have been introduced via a specialized portal. The system actively uses an AI-based virtual assistant and digital video simulations that depict problematic situations encountered in real investigative practice.

To provide free legal assistance to the public, a legal clinic and a dedicated electronic platform have been established. Students are involved in this work, developing practical skills under the guidance of experienced specialists.

Moreover, a Scientific and Educational Center for Combating Corruption has been established, providing master’s degree training and scientific and methodological support to the dissertation council.

To counter cybercrime and other global threats and to train qualified specialists in this field, the Scientific Research Institute of Digital Forensics was established within the academy’s structure last year, pursuant to relevant decrees of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan.

Notably, the modern cyber laboratory has conducted 439 complex digital investigations and forensic examinations, resulting in 189 cybercrimes being solved.

The academy’s project office is implementing over 15 projects in collaboration with experts from the USA, Japan, Germany, South Korea, Russia, Slovenia, and Sweden.

The academy operates a scientific council covering ten scientific specializations, with the “Corruption issues” council being the only one of its kind in the country. The academy’s research potential has increased from 26 to 67 percent over the past three years.

The President inspected the academy’s special rooms for simulating court trials, interrogations, and identification procedures, as well as other specialized classrooms and the modern facilities at the information resource center. He also spoke with the students.

UzA