Russian Police Reform
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Russian police reform (, ''Zakon o Politsii''; Law on Police) is a reform initiated by then
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia since 2020. Medvedev was also President of Russia between 2008 and 2012 and Prime Mini ...
to improve the efficiency of Russia's police forces, decrease
corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...
and improve the public image of
law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...
among other goals. On 7 February 2011, amendments were made to laws on the police force, the criminal code and the criminal procedure code. The amendments came into force on 1 March 2011. These changes stipulate a personnel cut of 20%, the renaming of
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
n law enforcers from "
militsiya ''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, 3=mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə, 5=, ) were the police forces in the Soviet Union until 1991, in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), and in the Non-Aligned Movement, non-aligned Socialist Federal Republic ...
" (militia) to " politsiya" (police), substantial increases in salaries, centralisation of financing, and several other changes. Around 217 billion
rubles The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are su ...
($7 billion) have been allocated from the federal budget to finance the reform.


Background

The Russian law enforcers (called
militsiya ''Militsiya'' ( rus, милиция, 3=mʲɪˈlʲitsɨjə, 5=, ) were the police forces in the Soviet Union until 1991, in several Eastern Bloc countries (1945–1992), and in the Non-Aligned Movement, non-aligned Socialist Federal Republic ...
before the reform) had a poor public image: over half of the population admit that they do not trust the police. Compared to other countries, the trust in the police in Russia is higher than in
Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
and
Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...
, but less than in
Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...
and substantially smaller than in Western European countries such as Germany. Many people in Russia have had bad experiences with the militsiya and, when becoming victims of a crime, are reluctant to call the militsiya for help. Corruption is widely believed to be significant among Russian law enforcement officers. According to a 2005 study by the Levada-Center research organisation, almost 60% of the surveyed police officers had additional jobs to supplement their income, and almost 20% gained additional income during working hours. The Russian state does not monitor the private business activities of its law enforcement officers. In comparison, 20–90% of policemen in the cities of the United States conduct private business, but have to report their activities to the police authorities. Russian police are relatively poorly paid, and low wages are widely regarded as one of the main reasons for corruption and abuse of office among the law enforcement officers.


Chronology

The beginning of the reforms were announced by President
Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician and lawyer who has served as Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia since 2020. Medvedev was also President of Russia between 2008 and 2012 and Prime Mini ...
at the end of 2009. The reason for those reforms was a shooting started by a police officer at a supermarket on 29 April 2009. On 24 December 2009, the Presidential decree number 1468 was issued. It ordered the Interior Ministry to plan measures for cutting the number of law enforcement personnel by 20%, making the police salary arrive exclusively from the federal budget prohibiting funding by regional authorities. A proposal was developed by a working group consisting of 14 non-governmental human rights organisations put forward. In early August 2010 a draft law was posted on the Internet for public discussion. The website was popular, with more than 2,000 comments posted within 24 hours of its opening. Based on citizen feedback, several modifications to the draft were made. On 27 October 2010, President Medvedev submitted the draft to the lower house of the
State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...
. On 9 October 2010, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin announced that around 217 billion rubles ($7 billion) will go to the police reform from the federal budget in 2012–2013. Some of money will be spent in increasing police officers' salaries by 30%. The lower house of the Duma voted to approve the bill on 28 January 2011, and the upper house followed suit on 2 February 2011. On 7 February 2011, President Medvedev signed the bill into law. The changes came into effect on 1 March 2011. In July 2011, the Kremlin passed a law to triple the salary amount for police officers. The law also boosts pensions and other benefits for veterans and introduces subsidies to purchase housing, and also cancels the current housing provision system. For instance, a Lieutenant will now earn 33,000 to 45,000 rubles a month compared to the 10,000 ruble pay.


Main changes and aims of the reform


Name change

Under the reform, the name of Russian law enforcers was changed from the Soviet-era term "militsiya" (militia) to the more universal term of "politsiya" (police) on 1 March 2011.


Centralisation

As a result of the reform, the Russian police will be made a federal-level institution, with funding accomplished fully from the federal budget. Under the old system, police units responsible for public order and petty crimes were under the jurisdiction of regional and city authorities, financed from regional budget and responsible more to the regional governors than to the federal center.


Changes to police and detainee rights

According to the new law, the detainee will receive a right to make a telephone call within 3 hours of the detention. They will also receive the right to have a lawyer and translator from the moment of their detention, and the police must inform the detainee of their rights and duties. The police will lose its right to carry out and demand checks of a company's financial and business activities. The police may also no longer detain a citizen for an hour just to find out their identity.


References

{{Dmitry Medvedev 2011 in Russia Law enforcement in Russia Law reform in Russia Dmitry Medvedev Reform in Russia