Igor Klymenko: Police and community — partnership for security
“Safe community” is a concept that the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine and the National Police are gradually implementing. This is expressed in a steady increase in the number of community police officers, who act as a kind of security cell in the entrusted territory. So today, on the Day of Local Self-Government, we will talk about the achievements and prospects of the “Community Police Officer” project and directions of cooperation with the leadership of territorial communities. The Head of the National Police Igor Klymenko told about this today, December 7, in an interview with the Interfax-Ukraine information agency.
So, what is the difference between a community police officer and a regular precinct officer? First of all, because he himself lives in the community. That is, he understands well and feels the needs of citizens. Who needs care, who needs support, and who needs extra, in some places stricter supervision.
Having a police officer in the community is always an prompt response to a problem and confidence in the safety of residents. Currently, there are 755 operating POGs in Ukraine. They serve 440 territorial communities, and that's more than 8 million citizens.
Our goal is to reach 2,000 community police officers by the end of 2022. We are ready to provide high-quality trained personnel. POGs undergo special training, where they acquire the necessary knowledge and skills that will be needed while serving in territorial communities.
Of course, the territorial community must also be financially involved in the project. But all the costs of creating conditions for serving in the community in the future are compensated by an adequate level of security and law order. This will be an incentive for the police officer to work better, because the comfort of service and even his stay in office will directly depend on how satisfied the local residents are with his work.
But how can security be measured? The only figure that can be deduced is the level of crime in a particular territorial community. More precisely, how it changed with the arrival of the PoH.
Take as an example the Kornin community from Rivne region, which unites 5 villages. Since April 2020, with the appearance of POGs in the community, the number of applications and reports of criminal offenses has decreased by 27%. No murders, robberies, incidents of causing grievous bodily harm and robberies have been reported. The number of thefts was halved and there were four times fewer thefts with penetration into citizens' homes.
Or the Bogdanovskaya territorial community of the Dnipropetrovsk region, where POGs have been working since 2019. During their service, the crime rate decreased by more than 20% and the number of detected administrative offenses increased more than tenfold.
Within the framework of the “Safe Environment” project, a video surveillance system has been set up in the community and 17 cameras have been installed. Last year, our international partners from ISITAR conducted a survey among the local population, which showed impressive results — 82% trust in the police.
These data, using the example of two communities, best demonstrate the effectiveness of having police officers in communities.
However, not just one POG can ensure safety in the community. Of course, the police officer is at the center of this process. However, there must be a single set of measures that will allow maintaining law and order in the community. One of them is the installation of video surveillance systems.
In total, there are more than 39 thousand video surveillance cameras in Ukraine, the data of which can be used by the National Police. At the same time, almost 25 thousand of them were installed by local authorities and local self-government precisely on the initiative of the police.
Why is it important? Yes, because the number of crime revelations increases many times. We observe this in those regions where the video surveillance system is actively developing. There, 60-70% of serious and especially serious crimes are revealed precisely with the help of video obtained from cameras.
As an example of deep cooperation in this direction, I can note the Dnipropetrovsk region, in which more than 800 video cameras have been installed during this year. The total number of them in the region is currently more than 2800.
Also, almost 800 cameras were added this year in the Odessa region, increasing the total number to more than 2 thousand four hundred.
It is clear that this is a costly affair. But is it possible to determine the price of security and law order? Of course not. Because it is human life and the well-being of citizens.
That is why the National Police is interested in ensuring that the multi-component program “Safe Community” continues to work effectively. And community police officers, as law enforcement officers of a new generation, with new approaches to work and a philosophy of service, are the main actors in this process.
They are already forming a solid base on the ground to build a system of collective security in the future that will unite all territorial communities of Ukraine. This is our shared goal with community leaders to create a single safe space in the state where everyone feels safe.
