Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Police to participate in the discussion of the performance report 2022 of the depatment, as well as to discuss the upcoming steps of the newly established Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Deputy Prime Ministers Mher Grigoryan and Tigran Khachatryan, Chief of Staff of the Prime Minister Arayik Harutyunyan, Minister of Internal Affairs Vahe Ghazaryan, Head of State Supervision Service Romanos Petrosyan, and other officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Police participated in the consultation.

It was reported that the process of forming the Ministry of Internal Affairs was completed in 2022, and now the works to ensure the normal operation of the department are underway, which will last 6 months. It was noted that it is planned to demilitarize the Police forces and form the Police Guard, the functions of which will include ensuring public order, security of state buildings, etc.

During the reporting period, police patrol services were formed in Lori and Shirak Provinces, in the coming days such services will also start operating in Aragatsotn, Kotayk, Gegharkunik and Tavush Provinces. The formation of patrol services in Ararat, Armavir, Vayots Dzor and Syunik Provinces is in progress. Currently, the competition stage is in progress for the purpose of recruitment. In 2023, it is planned to form a Water Patrol Service.

The officials in charge reported on the certification process for Police officers, which will result in both salary increases and improved social security.

Next, the works carried out in the direction of fighting against crime, improving the level of technical equipment of the Police system, improving the educational environment, and training Police officers were presented.

Referring to the fight against drugs, it was noted that a specialized unit for combating the illegal circulation of drugs through the Internet was created last year, and currently the works of equipping it with appropriate technical means are in progress. During the reporting period, the number of cases of exposing drug trafficking increased by 77 percent compared to 2021.

The results of the operation of the control center of electronic video recording systems of the Police were presented. It was reported that during 2022 the number of traffic accidents in the Republic decreased. In particular, 4 thousand 308 accidents were recorded last year, as a result of which 321 people were killed and 6 thousand 153 people were injured. Compared to 2021, the number of accidents decreased by 296, the number of victims by 47, and the number of injured by 546. It was noted that the number of road accidents decreased for the first time in recent years.

Next, the formation of regional units of the Criminal Police, the operational situation in the country, the fight against crimes, the introduction of the Operational Management System, and other issues were addressed.

Prime Minister Pashinyan emphasized the importance of ensuring the continuity and effective implementation of work in the above-mentioned directions, emphasizing the need to consistently improve the quality of services provided to citizens by the units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, including through digitalization and introduction of electronic systems. Nikol Pashinyan instructed to continue and expand all the measures that contribute to reducing the number of road accidents. In this context, the improvement of the traffic points system, the raising of the standards for the issuance of driver's licenses was emphasized. "It is necessary to significantly raise the standard of issuing driver's licenses in line with international standards. We need to rule out the possibility that someone who shouldn't get a driver's license somehow gets one. It's about human lives. These measures should be aimed at preventing accidents," the Prime Minister emphasized. Speaking about the introduction of police patrol services in regions, Nikol Pashinyan instructed to carry out active measures to increase the involvement of women.