On January 10, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited the Ministry of Internal Affairs to participate in the discussion of the activity report 2023 of the Ministry.

Minister of Internal Affairs Vahe Ghazaryan and the deputy ministers presented the works and priorities, also referring to the reforms implemented by the ministry.

It was reported that during the reporting period, large-scale works were carried out in the direction of the complete formation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In 2023, the charters and structure of the ministry and 3 subordinate state bodies, the number of personnel of the ministry were approved, as a result of which a total of 629 positions will be optimized in order to have effective management and exclude duplication of functions. Most of the structural divisions of the Ministry have already been formed and operate based on an open and transparent competition.

With the formation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, non-police functions (especially public services provided by the state) were transferred to the domain of the Ministry. During the reporting period, the registration-examination department of Artashat was launched with new solutions and approaches in accordance with international standards.

Within the framework of the structural transformation of the Police, the service will develop as a professional structure with 4 pillars: Criminal Police, Patrol Service, Police Guard and Community Police. The regional departments of the police will be abolished, the divisions in 4 main directions will have their territorial divisions in Yerevan and in the regions, with vertical and effective management. In 2023, the Patrol Service, as a new and modern model, was fully introduced throughout the territory of the country. The Patrol Service has a completely new logistical equipment, including 631 cars in factory condition, of which 75 were provided by the European Union.

Referring to the Patrol Service and the issue related to the activity of new personnel in the system in general, the Prime Minister noted. "Our perception is that in the future, in the long run, the only way to work in the Police should be the Patrol Police. That is, if someone wants to work in the Police, he should start from the Patrol Police, then train for each stage of his career. A person should know that he has the opportunity to grow and reach the top management of the Police."

The Water Patrol Service has been launched in Lake Sevan and coastal areas, which is aimed at realizing the vision of having a safe and secure Lake Sevan. The water patrol service was equipped with ships, scooters, radio communication equipment, service SUVs for transporting water equipment, modular buildings were also built and furnished.

In order to promote the involvement of female patrollers in the patrol service, a new recruitment was announced, where majority places were allocated to female applicants. According to the results of the admission, 140 women took part in the examinations for enroling in the service.

During the previous year, the National Assembly adopted the legislative packages aimed at the reinterpretation of the Community Police and the transformation of the Criminal Police. Civilians can also apply for the open competition announced for recruitment in the criminal police. The appointment to the position of a criminal police officer will be carried out through studies at the educational complex of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

It was informed that during 2023, the concept of formation of the Police Guard was approved, the package of bills "On the Police Guard" and related laws was developed, went through the stage of inclusive public discussions and received a positive international evaluation. The new law excludes the dual status of the Police Guard, it will be a pure police service, will be removed from the status of "other troops". This will also improve civil and parliamentary control over the police guard.

During the reporting period, legislative changes were made, which enable police officers to undergo certification and receive an additional payment in addition to their salary. According to the results of certification, police officers can double their financial income. The level of public trust in the Police has also increased as a result of the reforms in the police sector. In 2023, on the initiative of the International Republican Institute, a public opinion survey was conducted by the Center for Insights of Survey Research among the population of Armenia for the months of January-March, according to the results of which, the police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs took the second place with an index of 58% in the indicator of the population's satisfaction with the work of Armenian structures.

According to the summary data of the "Crime and Security Index" presented in 2023 by the internationally renowned analytical and informational portal NUMBEO, Armenia ranks 7th among the 142 countries (2022: 8, 2018: 18). The city of Yerevan, in turn, was included among the 20 safest cities out of 416 cities, and is the first in the region.

The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction with the recorded results and noted. "Of course, these data are very good, for this stage we are satisfied, but I hope that we are setting much more serious tasks in front of ourselves in terms of international image. In other words, if today, unfortunately, we are only 7th in terms of internal security from the point of view of this organization, it means that we should set a goal to go further, and our goal should be to be the safest country. And the same about the capital Yerevan.

Tourist organizations pay a lot of attention to such things when designing their packages. We should always keep our finger on the pulse, go deeper where we are regressing or not progressing, understand what the reasons are. Of course, first of all, this process is related to the work of the Police and Rescue Service. I mean, this is the most important thing. We should have this benchmark every year when evaluating the work of our Rescue Service and Police."

It was noted that 2023 was declared by the Ministry of Internal Affairs as the year of combating illegal drug trafficking. As a result of large-scale operational-preventive measures implemented in this context, the number of drug trafficking cases detected during the 11 months of 2023 increased by 2,354 or about 2.5 times (1,445-3,799), of which 2,287 were cases of drug sales. During the reporting period, 465 cases of illegal drug trafficking through the Internet were recorded, of which 126 were cases of sale, and 339 were cases of acquisition. 650 Internet "shops" and 35 "channels" dealing in drug sales were revealed.

Prime Minister Pashinyan referred to the fight against illegal drug trafficking and noted. "We have an increase in cases related to illegal drug trafficking, which also means an increase in the rate of detection. There is a debate here, or rather not a debate, but arguments. Some of our colleagues say that if we were more effective in fighting against drugs, it should be reflected in the official statistics in the number of drug-related crimes. But I can't help but agree with the conclusion that if we reveal so much means that it is too much.

Here, the function of the Police and investigative bodies is of course clear: to reveal, but first we need to have a strategy to deal with this problem of crimes and relationships using new technologies in cyber space. Second, an interdepartmental working group dealing with the problem should be created so that they have some sense of team responsibility”.

It was reported that during the last 38 days, an enhanced service was implemented on the interstate and national highways of the republic. The number of accidents decreased by 396, the number of victims decreased by 17. Enhanced road service will be continuous.

Referring to the Rescue Service under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it was reported that rescuers were also given the opportunity to be certified. The highly certified rescuer today receives 437,000 AMD salary, instead of the previous 232,000 AMD.

In order to manage the risk of disasters, to ensure the participation of the population in the rescue work, and to guarantee the effectiveness of the state-community interaction, a rapid response volunteer team was created in the regions of Syunik, Vayots Dzor, Tavush, Gegharkunik and the city of Yerevan. 12 volunteers in each team have undergone appropriate training, they have been assigned professional uniforms, personal protective equipment, minimal rescue equipment, and first aid supplies. During the reporting period, the rescue service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was equipped with 8 "Polaris" brand SUVs. 2 drones were acquired.

Within the framework of disaster resilience measures, the Disaster Risk Management Strategy for 2023-2030 and Action Plan for 2023-2026 were approved. It formulates the agenda and priorities of the systemic reforms of the state in the direction of sustainable development of the Republic of Armenia and protection of the population. The implementation of strategic measures is aimed at increasing the resilience of the republic, having citizens capable of reacting to disasters instinctively and having a security culture.

During the previous year, the HOPE FSX 2023 large-scale international command staff exercise was held in Armenia within the framework of the "Comprehensive management of earthquakes in vulnerable areas of the South Caucasus through effective planning, response and joint operations" program, which was unprecedented in its nature and scope. Multi-member international search and rescue teams, observers and international experts from the member countries of the consortium of the program - Georgia, Cyprus, Greece, France, Montenegro and North Macedonia - participated in the exercise.

Conditioned by the formation of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the process of merger of the educational complex of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Academy of Crisis Management is currently underway, for the purpose of which a working group was formed, including representatives of international organizations. The concept for the formation of a unified educational complex is being developed, the purpose of which is to aim the implementation of educational programs of the educational complex to meet the personnel demand of the Police Guard, Patrol Service, Criminal Police, Community Police, Rescue Service and the National Center for Crisis Management.

Responding, Nikol Pashinyan noted that the educational infrastructure should be integrated in the Academic City and the design of the conceptual section should be started first. "Officer High School, Officer University. the title is there, but how are we going to integrate from a common group of officers, bring out different directions: army, police, rescue service, special services, etc.? A very serious interdepartmental substantive work should be done here, I am convinced that it is necessary to go that way. It will have new content and thus be more complex. In general, we need to think about having an organic officer class in the country. It is not very formal, it is not clearly drawn, but the officer class is of key importance for the state," said the Prime Minister.

Nikol Pashinyan also referred to the relevant regulations in the field of cryptocurrencies, the fight against illegal arms trafficking, the reforms of the Rescue Service, as well as other issues. In this context, the Prime Minister gave appropriate instructions to the officials.