Interior Ministry plans to expand network of Security Centers – Monastyrsky

KYIV. Aug 26 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine plans to expand the network of Security Centers in order to facilitate the application procedure for citizens, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Denys Monastyrsky said.

"Now in a number of regions, a new initiative is being tested – a network of Security Centers, which combine a police station and a State Emergency Service post. Our goal is to expand the number of such centers, as well as add service centers to their work. This will greatly simplify the application procedure for citizens. Today, 31 Security Centers have been created, most of all in Donetsk region. By the end of the year, together with territorial communities, we plan to create five more such institutions," Monastyrsky said at a meeting with members of the government and representatives of local self-government, the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs reports.

The Minister of Communities and Territories Development Oleksiy Chernyshov, in turn, said that the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in particular the National Police, are the only ones who brought their structures into line with the new administrative-territorial structure within the time frame established by law.

"The preliminary stage of decentralization ended with the creation of a new administrative-territorial structure. Some 1,469 territorial communities were created in which elections were successfully held. Together with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, we have developed tools for organizing cooperation. The Ministry of Regional Development, in particular, is an active participant in the Community Police Officer project. For two years, more than 30 officer stations have been opened throughout the country, where officers of the community work. To understand the dynamics, three years ago there were only three police officer stations in Ukraine," Chernyshov said.

Head of the National Police Ihor Klymenko said that now the project Community Police Officer project enjoys a high level of trust among the population and for its development requires a state approach and joint efforts, including financial support from both the National Police and local authorities.

"If we want to ensure a safe space in the regions, we need to work together with local self-government bodies. Together with our foreign partners, over two years of work in Ukraine, 632 community police officers have appeared. All personnel for this project are selected from existing law enforcement officers. Now the question is that by the end of 2022 more than 2,000 such police officers will appear throughout the country. This means that we must prepare and equip these people. We do our best to provide communities with our employees. But local authorities should also make efforts to strengthen the security policy in their territorial communities ," Klymenko said.

Head of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine Mykola Chechotkin said that in accordance with the best European practices, more voluntary fire brigades should work, especially in areas, remote from the main fire brigades, and hard-to-reach settlements.

"Today, there are 1,200 local fire departments and about 1,180 volunteer fire brigades in rural areas. The State Emergency Service, together with local authorities and local governments, considered that it was necessary to create another 1,600 local fire departments. In my opinion, this is an ideal model for our citizens to receive services related to ensuring security in a particular community," he said.