It so happened that we live in a protracted era of change. The restructuring of society, which began in 1985 of the last century with the rejection of the Soviet system in favor of democratic freedoms, continues to this day. 33 years have passed. Is it big or small to see the results of global change? Let's try to answer this question by analyzing the police reform.
We are new, we will build a bright world ...
When in the distant 80s the Country of Soviets embarked on the rails of democratic development and rushed into a bright capitalistic future, no one could have imagined that after some 20 years the police would reappear in Russia. For a generation of people who grew up in Soviet times, the word police had a negative message, causing anger and rage. This is connected with the revolutionary past, when the tsarist police persecuted the revolutionaries, and with the war of 1941, when the policemen who served the German occupiers killed civilians.
But time goes on, a new generation has grown up that has not been brought up in the glorious Soviet past, and therefore now the word "policeman" does not cut the ear. Why did they change the sign? Who and why did they need to carry out the reform of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2011? To be more precise, the preparation of the reform began in 2009 with the decree of the President of the Russian Federation “On measures to improve the activities of the internal affairs bodies of the Russian Federation”. This decree was a response to the outrages that were happening in law enforcement.
Police lawlessness
One high-profile case after another: the Russian media only managed to cover serious crimes in which police officers were the culprits.
2003 year. Six officers of the Moscow Criminal Investigation Department and Lieutenant General of the Ministry of Emergencies Vladimir Ganeev received 15-20 years in a maximum security colony. Since the beginning of the 90s, these law enforcement officers, threatening reprisal and prison, robbed the entrepreneurs of the capital. In their bank cells, the investigation discovered more than three million dollars. A stable expression came into use from this case: werewolves in uniform.
2004 year. Moscow police sergeant Sergei Kostruba was sentenced to nine years in a maximum security colony. Tajik citizen Rustam Baybekov was unlucky on the last day of July: he had to pay his life for a ticketless metro ride. The zealous law enforcement officer, having discovered a "hare" in the jurisdiction, demanded documents. Unfortunately, the detainee did not have registration, and he still had the audacity to refuse to pay a fine on the spot. Without waiting for the trial and the investigation, the sergeant pronounced the verdict on the offender and immediately executed him: he killed a stowaway with a shot in his mouth.
2008 year. Three employees of the Saratov police department were sentenced to 23 years in a maximum security colony. Being very drunk, the police beat up a citizen of Armenian nationality and, having doused with gasoline, burned him alive for the refusal of the unfortunate person to take the blame for the thefts.
And the last straw was the resonance case of the head of the Tsaritsyno police department, Denis Yevsyukov. In 2009, under the influence of alcohol, a police boss mortally wounded a taxi driver, opened fire on passers-by on Shipilovskaya Street in Moscow, but this did not seem enough to him. Having burst into the Ostrov supermarket, a distraught policeman shot the cashier and fired at law enforcement officers who had arrived for detention. As a result of the fighting, a drunken major killed two people, injured - seven, and the whole country was shocked. The court sentenced the former policeman to life imprisonment in a special regime colony.
Prerequisites for Reform
The intensity of the negative events that put law enforcement bodies in an unfriendly light testified to the flourishing of corruption and the inability of the existing system to cope with modern realities. The reform in the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs was supposed to resolve the accumulated contradictions:
- The law on the police, adopted in the 90s, did not meet modern requirements. The multiple amendments to the bill over the past 20 years have created confusion over the powers of the ATS. Inconsistency of responsibilities of various structures of law enforcement agencies led to inefficient work, duplication of activities and the performance of functions unusual for the police.
- The police law and the acts that regulated the activities of law enforcement agencies often disproved each other, which led to difficulties in their legal application.
- Abuse of official positions and repressive actions against fellow citizens finally turned the population against police officers.
- Uncontrolled illegal actions of law enforcement officers testified to the absence of clearly defined their rights and duties, internal discipline, strict selection of candidates who want to work in the police department.
The legislative framework
Life forced me to face the truth: it can no longer go on like this. What is needed is not so much, maybe global, as real, working changes in the functioning of the rule of law system. To solve these problems in 2011, Federal Law-3 “On Police” was adopted, which clearly prescribed the following provisions:
- The Russian police protect the inhabitants of the country, its guests and stateless people. 12 types of activities of law enforcement agencies are aimed at this: protection, crime prevention and crime investigation, security, protection of victims, witnesses, etc.
- Police reform has touched the duties of a policeman. He must protect any person in distress. He must be attentive and polite in dealing with citizens. A policeman is prohibited from party membership in order to maintain impartiality. Behavior in working and free time should not be different. A policeman is an example for citizens, etc.
- Law -3 “On Police” introduced a number of prohibitions. It is strictly forbidden to use torture, cruel acts and humiliate human dignity.
- The document focuses on increasing public confidence in law enforcement agencies. The policeman is responsible for his actions. For violation of the rights of citizens, the police must apologize, and the officer must be punished until dismissed without the right to reinstate.
Internet edits law
An unheard-of thing was the proposal of President Dmitry Medvedev to submit a law for general discussion on the Internet. As a result, more than 5 million Russian citizens took part in the debate.
The people did not believe that there would be dramatic changes from simply renaming the police to the Russian police. When people expressed their opinions in the comments, this mood was clearly visible. But, despite the skepticism of the population, they listened to their opinion.
Articles were excluded from the law that allowed policemen to freely enter territory considered to be private property. The “presumption of the rule of law of the police” was also criticized. So, in fact, any action by a policeman was considered legal until proven otherwise. Although there is no direct wording in the law, the opposition believes that the presumption of legality is present in a veiled form in the document.
Reform strides across the country
Well, finally, let’s heal: the law on police reform has been adopted and submitted for implementation. Now, as in the song, crime will decrease, and on the streets only polite and smiling policemen. But the flight of fantasy about the bright present will remain an unfulfilled dream. Let's not forget that we are in Russia. And the peculiarity of national reforms lies in the fact that they are composed of officials who are far from ordinary people, and also in the unwillingness of the state to adequately finance those reforms.
There was enough money, only to change signs and inscriptions on cars, and raising salaries ... "There is no money, but you hold on," the famous phrase by Dmitry Medvedev describes the true situation with salaries. To report on the successful implementation of the reforms, the police chief, Rishat Nurgaliyev, is organizing a staff reduction. 22% of employees were fired, and the freed money was redistributed to the remaining ones - a magical increase in salaries took place. Moreover, not a single extra penny was spent. Once again, the Russians are convinced that any improvement in life comes at their expense.
What's happening? Police reform!
The consequences of the downsizing immediately affected the quality of work. The volume of tasks performed remains the same, and the ranks of employees who must solve them have thinned noticeably. As the police themselves noted, there is no time for smiles, there is a lot of work, some issues are resolved hastily and somehow. In addition, police reform also affected education. Of course, the idea in itself that police officers have a law degree is good. But life shows something else.
Now, green and inexperienced university graduates are being put in place of police chiefs, while experienced and qualified personnel, due to the lack of a higher education, remain in the wings. But this is not so bad. Many employees with rich experience quit, not wanting to endure such an injustice. And graduates of law schools, having worked for three months in unbearable conditions of a large volume of tasks and an eternal lack of time, also quit and prefer to find not so nervous work.
Oil painting: despite the increase in salaries, people are in no hurry to get a job at the police. The lack of personnel is palpable in those professions that work directly with the population: district police officers, investigators, interrogators, etc. But the staff of leading employees, the press service, the educational, medical, and legal departments are fully staffed. Further more.
We wanted the best, it turned out as always
Police reform included a review of law enforcement personnel. For this, it was decided to change the staffing table and conduct recertification of employees. These steps were designed to improve the qualifications and eliminate unscrupulous police officers. Adjustment of staffing was to reduce leadership positions and optimize the performance of executive staffing units. But clear criteria for evaluating employees have not been developed.
We wanted the best, but it turned out as always. In practice, the situation was different from what was pictured by ideal theory. The law on the police was issued in February 2011, by July of the same year it was necessary to report on the results of certification and staffing changes. Until May, the Ministry of Internal Affairs developed a standard staff, and on the ground the document was finalized until July. As a result, there was not enough time for certification. Well, it was extended until mid-August. But for such a short period, if one approaches the matter in good faith, it is physically impossible to certify all employees.
As a result, galloping conducted certification activities without understanding what to check, and the authorities managed to timely report on the work done. As it turned out later, hasty staffing, which was done in a hurry, not only did not reduce leadership positions, but also increased them, respectively, the number of real employees decreased.
Good intentions
The reform (from militia to police) suggested that the work of law enforcement agencies should become better, a negative image should remain in the past, and people's confidence in the police would increase. However, the formal approach gave a formal result. Of course, there are changes: when you come for help, they first give you a piece of paper for signature, where you need to evaluate the police. And how to evaluate it? An employee sits in the office and calmly issues certificates. Of course, a person will appreciate the work of this woman as good. Hence the positive numbers of social studies: public confidence in the police doubled, i.e., from 23% to 46%. Everything is formal again.
For example, in Georgia, after police reform, people's trust in law enforcement officials increased from 5% to 95%, and these are real numbers. The secret is simple. They really wanted to change everything for the better, so they did not set impossible deadlines and did not require formal reports. Dismissed all those who did not meet the new requirements, and newly arrived newcomers were trained. For bribes they imprisoned for 10 years. Several demonstration courts brought to the understanding that everything was serious. Bribes have stopped. Thieves in law put everyone in one prison so that they could only rule by themselves, and the rest left the country. Large amounts of money were invested in the reorganization of the police: the patrol service received a fleet of new Skoda-Octavia and Ford cars.
Beautiful and comfortable police department buildings were built throughout Georgia. And the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the capital is striking in its size and design. The new uniform and equipment of the police with the latest technology has also increased their status. All at the expense of the state. And, of course, high salaries. The profession of a policeman is very prestigious, and you just can’t get a job in it, you have to go through a strict selection. Thanks to the reform, Georgia is recognized as one of the safest countries. Drivers can leave the keys in the car and leave safely. No one will steal her. Forgotten things will wait for the owner at the place where they were left.
Future reforms
How can one not recall the catch phrase: “Oh, it's a shame for the state!” So what can we not, or what, right? But hope dies last. The Russian government is making another attempt to carry out a global reform of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2019.
The changes have two goals: reducing the control apparatus and reducing the cost of power structures:
- Global reform is called because its implementation period is planned for 5 years. During this time, wages should increase, and social security of employees should improve.
- The merger of departments will reduce the staff of managers: the patrol service will connect with the traffic police, the issue of combining the prosecutor's office and the investigating authorities is being considered.
- Police reform reduces some functions of the agency: now the issuing of passports will be handled by the IFC. Also, civil organizations will take on the responsibility of issuing a driver’s license.
- Supporting professions will lose the status of military personnel. Psychologists, accountants, forensic experts, human resources officers will become civilian specialists.
- Medical staff will go under the wing of the Ministry of Health. Medical services for police officers will be provided under insurance policies, and the results of the medical board on fitness for service will be more objective.
- In order to save money and improve the skills of employees, the service life is increased from 20 to 25 years.
- The Federal Penitentiary Service will be part of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The latest reform in the government’s plans is to significantly improve the work of the police. Life shows that reforms are ongoing, and they are proceeding with varying success. It would be great if the implementation of the new reform was carried out taking into account past mistakes, and was carried out not for show, but for people.