Since the program was launched in September 2013, the EU says the MPF has demonstrated great willingness to change for the better.

“The police hate to be hated, they really want to reform,” said Ms Karin Deckenbach, who is involved in the program as the EU component leader linking police reform with the media and civil society.

The EU has allocated €9.5 million to the training program, which focuses on crowd management, community policing and building relationships among the police, the media and civil society.

Crowd management training is being conducted in Yangon, Nay Pyi Taw and Mandalay. Community policing has so far been limited to four Yangon townships: Mingalar Taung Nyunt, Sanchaung, Thanlyn and Hlaing Tharyar. The MPF has about 72,000 personnel and more than 3,000 have so far been trained in crowd management and a few hundred in community policing, including trainers who conduct their own workshops under EU supervision.

The relationship between the MPF and the media was fraught during military rule and has been problematic since the change of government. To help improve the relationship, the EU program includes media training for members of the MPF and the media. So far, 250 officers have been trained in professional press and public information services and 75 journalists have attended workshops in conflict sensitive reporting.

In an indication of a change in mindset, Yangon Region police chief Police Colonel Win Naing was happy to talk about the training he and other officers have received from the EU.

“I am not afraid of the media anymore and willing to give information,” Pol Col Win Naing said.

An important element of the program is focussed on improving relations and building trust between the police and the public. It’s a challenging task, given the difficulties of the past, but Pol Col Win Naing says he is determined to make it work.

“The police are not here to bring fear to the public,” he said. “We are now working to improve and ensure that the public understands this.”

During the community policing training, MPF members are taught basic communication skills to help overcome a lack of experience in interacting with the public. Under the guidance of their EU trainers, they to talk to members of the public and ask if they can assist with any problems they might have.

Mr David Hamilton, a retired Northern Ireland police officer in charge of the community policing training, says the most important criteria for achieving improved relations with the public are visibility, accessibility and familiarity.

In the target townships for the training, some members of the force are riding mountain bikes donated by the EU. Pol Col Win Naing is enthusiastic about using bicycles. “It is easier to get in touch with the public from a bike and they are not noisy so it’s easier to catch thieves,” he said.

Bicycles are also one of the fastest ways to travel on Yangon's congested streets and Pol Col Win Naing hopes they will eventually be used in all of the commercial capital's townships. “It would look very nice if we would have bicycles patrolling throughout the city,” he said.

Despite some challenges, including a serious lack of resources and equipment, the training has already achieved some successes. In an indication of increased community confidence, the MPF is receiving more complaints from the public and has many more cases to deal with than previously. “Now people even call us when husband and wife are fighting and then we go over to ease the situation,” Pol Col Win Naing said.

“Before the people were reluctant to come, but now they approach the community police officers," said Police Major Myint Myint Htwe, a beneficiary of the community policing training.

" We are telling the public what we are doing and handing out cards with phone numbers for them to contact us if they need assistance,” Pol Maj Myint Myint Htwe.

There have also been advances in overcoming the MPF's reputation among the public for rude behaviour. “This is the first time in 74 years that I have been spoken to nicely,” a 74-year-old woman told an EU trainer accompanying one of the patrol teams.

Familiarity with the public serves also another purpose. “It is more difficult to take bribes from people you know,” said Ms Deckenbach.

Police corruption is a big problem. Low pay has made it difficult for many members of the MPF to resist the temptation of seeking bribes to supplement their income.

While there are signs of improvement, it will take a long time for the MPF to become a respected institution. “It will take thirty years to rebuild trust between the public and the police,” said Mr Hamilton.

There are also institutional challenges to reform. The constitution stipulates that the MPF falls under the Ministry of Home Affairs, the minister of which is appointed directly by the chief of staff of the Tatmadaw. This means that the MPF is neither independent of the Tatmadaw nor subject to parliamentary oversight.

Another issue is that former members of the Tatmadaw are serving in the MPF. “A lot of police officers are ex-military men and they still have a military mind-set; this needs to change,” said Yangon lawyer, U Aung Thane.

U Aung Thane supports the training program, but is sceptical about its impact. He cites an operation on September 16 to free government officials believed by police to have been taken hostage by the former employees of a South Korean-owned footwear factory in Yangon's outer western Hlaing Tharyar Township that closed abruptly on May. The laid off workers alleged that they were beaten during a protest demanding wages and compensation owed to them. The police said nine members of the force were injured in the incident.

The desperate need for crowd management training has been highlighted by the violent dispersal of protesters at the Letpadaung copper mine in November 2012 and criticism that the force has been ineffective in dispersing violent mobs during outbreaks of communal violence, such as the unrest in Mandalay in July.

Referring to the violence in Mandalay, Mr David Mathieson of Human Rights Watch said that "overall" the police performed well, but acknowledged they were slow to respond.

"The way the MPF responded to the recent violence in Mandalay was clearly an improvement on previous incidents, despite an initially slow response to mobilise," said Mr Mathieson, the senior researcher for HRW's Asia Division.

After mobilising, "the Mandalay police did an overall good job of cordoning off areas, protecting Muslim neighbourhoods and maintaining an effective presence to deter further violence," he said.

Mr Mathieson also praised the police for giving regular media briefings and for liaising with community leaders.

But on crowd control tactics, he said the police handling of the incident at the footwear factory at Hlaing Tharyar last month showed there was much room for improvement.

"Every situation of protest and police response has to be looked at under the specific conditions, but it [the footwear factory incident] shows that the police still have a very long way to go to make methods of response and crowd management that reduces potential for escalation to violence a central part of their culture," Mr Mathieson said.

An overriding objective of the EU training is to transform the MPF from a police force to a police service and enable it to live up to the "May I help you" signs in English in the walls of police stations.

"The EU is proud to be funding such an important reform project," European Union ambassador Roland Kobia told an open day event at Mingalar Taung Nyunt police station on May 25.

"It builds trust between the community and the police, and enhances the professionalism of the MPF," said Mr Kobia.

As part of the project, the EU is supporting the drafting of a new police law and a manual to bring policing procedures up to date. The current police manual stems from the colonial era.

EU officials say the program is likely to be extended because of the progress it has achieved, but Pol Col Win Naing says he's not expecting miracles any time soon, because training alone will not be enough to reform the force.

“Practice makes perfect,” Pol Col Win Naing said.