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The National Police of Ukraine ( uk, Націона́льна полі́ція Украї́ни, translit=Natsionálʹna polítsiya Ukrayíny, ; , NPU), often simply referred to as the ( uk, Поліція, lit=Police, label=none), is the national, and only,
police service The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
of
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
. It was formed on 3 July 2015, as part of the post-
Euromaidan Euromaidan (; uk, Євромайдан, translit=Yevromaidan, lit=Euro Square, ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protests in Maidan Nezalezhno ...
reforms launched by Ukrainian president
Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko se ...
, to replace Ukrainian's previous national police service, the
Militsiya ''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, , mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə) was the name of the police forces in the Soviet Union (until 1991) and in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), as well as in the non-aligned SFR Yugoslavia (1945–1992). The ...
. On 7 November 2015, all the remaining ''militsiya'' were labelled "temporary
acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...
" members of the National Police. The agency is overseen by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.National Police established in Ukraine
Interfax Ukraine The Interfax-Ukraine ( uk, Інтерфакс-Україна) is a Kyiv-based Ukrainian independent news agency founded in 1992. The company does not belong to the Russian news corporation Interfax Information Services. The company publishes in ...
(2 September 2015)


History

Prior to 3 July 2015,
law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of government who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by discovering, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms governing that society. The term ...
in Ukraine was carried out directly by the Ministry of Internal Affairs as the ''
militsiya ''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, , mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə) was the name of the police forces in the Soviet Union (until 1991) and in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), as well as in the non-aligned SFR Yugoslavia (1945–1992). The ...
''. Plans to reform the ministry, which was widely known to be corrupt, had been advocated by various governments and parties, but these plans were never realised. In the aftermath of the 2013–2014
Euromaidan Euromaidan (; uk, Євромайдан, translit=Yevromaidan, lit=Euro Square, ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protests in Maidan Nezalezhno ...
movement and subsequent revolution, the need for reform was acknowledged by all parties. Parliamentary elections were held in October 2014, after which all five of the parties that formed the governing coalition pledged to reform the ministry and create a new national police service. As part of the reforms, the Minister of Internal Affairs,
Arsen Avakov Arsen Borysovych Avakov hy, Արսեն Բորիսի Ավակով (born 2 January 1964) is a Ukrainian politician and businessman. From 2014 to 2021 he was Ukraine's Minister of Internal Affairs, first being appointed in the first cabinet of P ...
, presented plans to reduce the number of police officers in Ukraine to 160,000 by the end of 2015. The reform plans started with the combination of the ministry's current State Auto Inspection (DAI) and the patrol service in the country's capital
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...
in summer 2015. This new police patrol received funding from various countries. 2,000 new policemen and women, picked from 33,000 applicants, were recruited to initiate the new service in Kyiv. Officers were trained in the North American style by police officers from the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
and
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...
. Upon the launch of Kyiv's new patrol police on 4 July 2015, the ''militsiya'' ceased all patrolling but continued working at precincts and administrative offices. After that the new police patrol was rolled out across Ukraine. The organisation was formally established as the National Police on 2 September 2015. By late September 2015, 2,000 new constables were on duty in Kyiv, 800 were on duty in
Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest city and municipality in Ukraine.
and 1,700 were on duty in the cities of
Odesa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrati ...
and
Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...
. At this point, the ''militsiya'' was 152,000 officers strong, and continued to handle most policing across Ukraine. The basic salary of the new police force (almost $400 a month) is about three times as much the basic salary of the former ''militsiya''; an attempt to decrease
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
. The new National Police officially replaced the old ''militsiya'' on 7 November 2015. On that day, the remaining ''militsiya'' were labelled "temporarily
acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...
" members of the National Police. The change allowed for them to become members of the National Police after "integrity checks", but they were only eligible if they met the age criteria and went through retraining. This transition period ended on 20 October 2016. In this transition period 26% of police commanders were dismissed and 4,400 policemen and policewomen demoted and the same number of people promoted. On 14 February 2022, the National Police was transferred to combat alert, as a response for the Russian military buildup and threat of the invasion. The National Police and its tactical unit Rapid Operational Response Unit directly participated in hostilities against the invading
Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...
at the Kyiv offensive. As the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. A ...
progressed, the National Police helped in the war effort by maintaining law and order in Ukrainian-controlled areas, escorting prisoners, operating
checkpoints Checkpoint may refer to: Places * Border checkpoint, a place on the land border between two states where travellers and/or goods are inspected * Security checkpoint, erected and enforced within contiguous areas under military or paramilitary cont ...
, capturing infiltrators and detaining
prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of w ...
. By 1 March, 17 policeman were killed, 50 injured and 2
missing in action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been killed, wounded, captured, ex ...
.


Terminology

According to Professor Oleksandr Ponomariv of the Kyiv University's Institute of Journalism, the correct Ukrainian language term for a police officer is 'politsiyant' ''()''. This is in contrast to the term 'politseysky' ''()'', a loan word from the Russian language, commonly used to refer to an officer of the National Police. Ranks are rarely used by the public when addressing police officers in Ukraine; it is more common to hear the term Pan ''()'' (female - Pani ''()'' - Ukrainian for mister/miss - used to refer to police officers. Qualifying terms such as 'ofitser' ''()'' or 'politseiskyi' ''()'' may also be used in conjunction with these forms of address.


Structure and branches

The National Police is divided into a number of different services. Each force has internal subdivisions. This leaves the police service with a large number of specialised branches which can more specifically target certain types of crime and apply more expert knowledge in the investigation of cases relating to their area of policing. In addition to these specific groups, all police forces retain a majority of officers for the purpose of patrol duty and general law enforcement. The police contains the following subdivisions: *Criminal Police ''()'' – investigation and prevention of serious and violent
crime in Ukraine The fight against crime in Ukraine is led by the Ukrainian Police and certain other agencies. Due to the hard economic situation in the 1990s, the crime rate rose steadily to a peak in 2000. Following this peak, the crime rate declined, until 20 ...
**Department in fight against drug-related crime **Department of Cyber Police ''()'' – fighting against cyber crimes **Department of Economic Security *Department of Patrol Police ''()'' – general law enforcement operations, traffic policing and patrol duty (includes riot police divisions) ** number of municipal administrations *Department of Police Security ''()'' – Successor to the State Security Service (nothing to do with the State Security Administration) In addition, the following special units exist: *Special Police ''()'' – Tasked with keeping order in areas with special status and/or affected by natural or ecological disaster. * Rapid Operational Response Unit (KORD) ''()'' – Tactical response unit, tasked with resolution of stand-off situations involving hostages and/or heavily armed suspects. Also tasked with providing a tactical support function to other divisional officers. *Pre-trial Investigative Services ''()'' – Representatives of the National Investigative Bureau, Tax Authorities and Security Services, tasked with investigating crime.


Shoulder patches of the regional police subdivisions


Rank hierarchy


Officers


Junior officers


Equipment

Officers wear a camera that is constantly monitoring their performances. The resulting videos are posted on
social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...
and broadcast on a
reality TV show Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...
.


Vehicles


Police Day

National Police Day ( uk, День Націона́льної полі́ції, Denʹ Nacionálʹnoyi políciyi, label=none, ) on 4 July is the professional holiday of the Ukrainian Police. It commemorates the suspension of law enforcement duties by the Militsiya and the establishment of the National Police of Ukraine. It also coincides with the first oath of patrol policemen on Kyiv's Sofia Square. The holiday was introduced and first celebrated on 4 August 2015 and was celebrated on that day ever since until President
Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko se ...
, by decree on 4 April 2018, declared that the holiday should be celebrated annually on 4 July and become a national holiday.


Issues

''
Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukrai ...
'' collected (from open sources) 64 crimes allegedly committed by Ukrainian police officers from 1 January 2020 until 30 May 2020. Cases ranged from extortion to rape to killings.Who to call when the police kill? Chronicle of tortures, murders and beatings of law enforcement officers
Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukrai ...
(5 June 2020)


See also

* Law enforcement in Ukraine * Internal Troops of Ukraine * National Guard of Ukraine * Kyiv Police


References


External links

* * {{Central office of executive authority of Ukraine Law enforcement agencies of Ukraine Government agencies established in 2015 Ministry of Internal Affairs (Ukraine) 2015 in Ukraine 2015 establishments in Ukraine Institutions with the title of National in Ukraine