Rustam Minnikhanov: Modern realities offer the police difficult challenges

On 9 February, speaking at an expanded meeting of the Tatarstan Internal Ministry on results of 2021, the President of the republic Rustam Minnikhanov said that modern realities offer the police difficult challenges. The Chairman of the State Council of the republic Farid Mukhametshin, the Head of the President’s Office Asgat Safarov, the Chairman of the Security Council of the republic Rafail Guilmanov and the Chief Prosecutor Ildus Hafikov also took part in the meeting. 

In his report the Minister of Internal Affairs of the republic Artyom Khokhorin said that for the first time in the last four years the crime rate started dropping in the republic. The taken measures made it possible to step up the personal and property safety of residents in the streets and other public places, to ensure decrease of crime rate of the juveniles who were previously convicted.

He said that last year the law enforcement bodies solved more than 23 000 crimes and nearly 100 percent of violent crimes. Thus crime-solving rate of murders reached nearly 98 percent which was the highest indicator for the last 26 years similarly to crimes related to raping, theft and robbery, willful infliction of grievous bodily harm and home burglary.

Rustam Minnikhanov thanked the police for the work done during the pandemic. He said that 1 800 employees who were daily monitoring compliance with anti-epidemic requirements and checking thousands of public places, have surveyed  more than 400 thousand catering facilities, transport infrastructure and entertainment events. All this made it possible to decrease negative consequences, he added. 

He said that despite difficult situation the Tatarstan police worked skillfully, accurately and without fail and could provide control over the operational situation. Minnikhanov continued, saying that even though the number of serious crimes connected with drug circulation, corruption and the underage crime rate in the republic has decreased, the number of crimes related to digital technologies and cyber fraud has grown.

To solve this issue Minnikhanov called .the police to improve their professionalism, master modern high-tech means of struggling crime and to set up clear interaction with the banking community, Internet-providers and mobile communication operators. He also gave an errand to the management of the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Digitalization of the republic to strengthen efforts to increase the financial literacy and awareness of the population.

“The most serious attention should be given to struggling extremism. As we especially worried by the fact that young people are involved into destructive groups including those in the Internet”, - Tatarstan President said and added that all responsible bodies should monitor Internet spaces revealing those who drag the teenagers into abusing practices and increasing their immunity to recruiting by destructive organizations.

Minnikhanov said that one of the most important tasks of the law enforcement bodies was fighting the drug circulation. ”Much work is done -313 kilos of different drugs were withdrawn from circulation, 46 transportation channels and 7 clandestine labs were closed in 2021. Nevertheless it is necessary to continue eliminating clandestine production of drugs and drug trafficking channels and to step up fighting drug promotion via Internet, implementing new methods of struggling against drug-dealing”, he stated.

Minnikhanov paid special attention to issues of decriminalization of economy and struggling corruption at all levels of power. “You should be more active in revealing facts of bribery, embezzlement and stealing of money allocated from the budget on implementation of national projects and react very strongly to efforts of developing shadow structures and illegal outflow of money abroad”, he said.

The migrants’ situation must be given special attention in the republic, the Tatarstan President said.

Having noted the improvement of the operational situation in public places, Minnihanov added: “It is necessary to further develop the law-enforcement segment of the Safe City hardware and software system, to have stable interaction with the National Guard and municipal officers and to broadly use support from the community andvarious law enforcement organization such as Neighbor’s watch and Fore post,” the Tatarstan President said.

He continued, saying that there was a 12 per cent  understaffing of the police last year and it is necessary to take some measures to solve this issue including raising the police salaries.

Another important task is provision of the road traffic safety as the tendency that appeared in January gives rise to a serious concern. We are already not in the yellow but red zone and I am not trying to blame anyone – it is our common job”, -he said.

In conclusion Rustam Minnikhanov stated the plans for the current year which will be full of important international public-political and sports events. 

In the end of the meeting the Tatarstan President handed in state awards of the republic to the best employees of the Internal Ministry.