Anouncement
Dmitry Medvedev takes part in expanded board of Russian Ministry of Interior
Russia's President summed up the agency reform, evaluated the Internal Affairs authorities' performance in 2011, and outlined the activity priorities.
In addition, the President handed state awards over to a number of the MVD members. In particular, Dmitry Medvedev presented Stars of Hero of Russia to the widows of two officers who had carried out missions of eliminating militants in the North Caucasus. The President also awarded Orders of Courage to the individual Internal Affairs agency employees.
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Speech at the expanded board of the Ministry of the Interior (abridged)
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: Dear comrades! Dear Colleagues,
In recent years, the Ministry has changed. One of the major state policies, particularly last year, was reforming the entire system of the Ministry of the Interior. The police agency formation has been completed; whereas the Ministry's other departments have been reformed as well.
I believe that the most important thing we have achieved is that we have initiated deep structural and organizational changes. I would give a positive estimate to everything that we did together with you in the past year, and in recent years.
Now, there are the necessary conditions, including the legislative conditions, to better protect the rights and freedoms of our citizens, to counteract crime and protect law and order. This is the most important thing. Both the Interior Ministry in general and police as a new structural unit have received a solid regulatory framework. The MVD had never had such a regulatory framework before, in my opinion.
And here at the board, I would like to stress once again that this work will continue. Of course, we should be realistic evaluating the reforms, and the MVD system and the police must work hard to ensure the safety of people, to combat crime, and, generally, to fulfill the main objectives facing the Ministry system.
Now let us talk about the goals. The main course is the fight against crime. Here, the figures vary, and we always know that they are assessed differently. Nevertheless, there are some indicators showing both the changes for the better and the challenges.
Everything must be done to ensure the efficient operation of the territorial divisions and police stations. This is the cutting edge of dealing with people, it is there where people come with their problems and troubles, and they should know that they will always find understanding and at least a primary professional assistance. Now the police as a new agency are facing the most important task - to win our people's respect. Here, propaganda campaigns as such are unlikely to be of any effect. You understand that the only way to gain the trust is through demonstrating professional work, an accurate execution of their duties, and an attentive and friendly attitude towards people. If the police act promptly and respond reliably to all incoming signals, I have no doubt that our society will appreciate everything done by the police. This is very important to achieve mutual understanding.
Another priority, of course, remains the combat against corruption. There are a lot of activity areas in this respect, yet I will touch upon only one of them which we have mentioned often of late. I mean the situation in the housing and utilities sector where in some cases, the abuse and theft have reached an epidemic level, indeed, and unfortunately, it is destabilizing the situation a lot.
As I have already mentioned, a lot has to be done in order to strengthen the cooperation between the police and society. Public Councils established last year participate in addressing some issues. This is good. It is necessary to enhance this interaction. And in matters of anti-corruption, it is essential to more closely cooperate with the civil society and the media.
Still, one of the most pressing issues is the prevention and early suppression of acts of extremism. We live in a very difficult state, probably the most complex state that you can imagine - a federal, multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and the largest state in the world by area. And the police exercise a special responsibility for maintaining peace and harmony in our society.
The year which has begun features a lot of various political events, including the presidential election. The election period for the Internal Affairs bodies and, indeed, for all other law enforcement agencies is a period of hard work. In this context, I would like to emphasize that police officers should respond immediately to the requests and complaints from citizens and the voters in this case, and do their best to avoid electoral rights violation which has been the topic of the recent heated discussions.
Dear Colleagues! The world is changing, and it has become totally global, which involves its own difficulties. All of you are professionals. Many of the people present here have been serving for decades already. You know, in order to trigger any kind of social problems previously, a fairly complex organization and preparation was required. Now, the problems are often too quick to arise through the use of the modern technology. Therefore, we need to pay attention to the various crimes that take place in the information space as well. This is what all states do.
It is clear that the traditional forms of work are of no avail. We need to consider setting up entirely new units focused on identifying and solving very complex crimes in terms of technology. In connection with this task, the priority is the acquisition of high-end technology. For this purpose, we should spare no expense. And, of course, trained personnel is needed, otherwise the police are bound to lose in a confrontation with the crime.
Source: President of Russia's website
