http://www.russiaprofile.org/page.php?pageid=Experts%27+Panel&articleid=a1267293833
RUSSIA PROFILE Exeperts Panel, February 27, 2010
A reasonably efficient, accountable and controllable police force is not an
essential pillar, but it is a necessary ingredient in the blend of reforms
Medvedev has in mind. Those reforms can and should be accommodated within his
paradigm of managerial efficiency, technological innovation and cultural
conservatism. To make reform stick, the Security Council would be well advised
to avoid sweeping proposals and focus on the specific steps that could have a
measurable effect within a given time frame:
- Aim for a 50/50 ratio of active officers to administrators. It would not be
as good as most Western countries, but it would be a neat, achievable figure
and a huge improvement. Accordingly, reform should firstly commit to the
reduction of Interior Ministry personnel by 20 percent, but strictly from the
ranks of its bloated bureaucracy at all levels.
- Secondly, create an “Internal Affairs Reform Enforcement” squad authorized to
track down and punish resistance from within, and fire offenders – starting
with Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev (who responded to the symbolic closure of two
of the ministry’s 15 head departments by merging them with the remaining 13,
without any staff or expenditure reduction).
- Thirdly, centralize funding and thus end the grip of local/regional oligarchs
on “their” police. In Russia, “local control” of an institution does not
necessarily translate into more accountable or better service.
- Fourthly, provide additional central funds for salary increases of cops on
the beat, with the eventual objective of bringing them in line with the private
security sector. Relying on Internal Ministry’s savings would take too long and
bring in too little after redundancy payoffs have been taken care of.
All of the above can and should be done in the next few years. Expecting more
is probably unrealistic, but settling for less is unpardonable.
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Dr. S. Trifkovic
www.balkanstudies.org
www.trifkovic.mysite.com
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Serbian News Network - SNN
[email protected]
http://www.antic.org/
