Palanga hosts police skills competition with Latvian, Polish and Ukrainian teams
From September 14 to 16, the Lithuanian resort town of Palanga is hosting a national best-police-officer competition that also includes guest teams from Latvia, Poland and Ukraine. Organizers reassure residents there is no cause for alarm over the increased police presence.
Visitors to Palanga this week may notice an unusually large number of police officers around the resort town, but there is a simple explanation: the city is hosting a competition to find Lithuania's best police officers. Ten teams are taking part, one representing each Lithuanian district, alongside guest teams from Latvia, Poland and Ukraine.
Competition organizers stressed that the heightened police presence in and around Palanga is not linked to any incident or threat — it is simply part of the planned professional skills contest.
What the competition involves
Participants are tested across a wide range of disciplines. The program includes extreme driving, shooting skills, police tactics, response to violent incidents, orienteering tasks and police dog handling. Beyond the practical challenges, officers must also demonstrate theoretical professional knowledge and complete additional tasks that were not disclosed ahead of the event.
The competition runs over three days, from September 14 to 16, with the winning team to be announced on the evening of September 16.
Representatives of the Latvian State Police traveled to Lithuania to demonstrate their professional skills alongside colleagues from the other participating countries.
