Internal affairs lack funding

On Wednesday, State Duma deputies heard a report by Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev on the results of the fight against crime. The minister’s speech was even broadcast on the Duma’s website, despite the fact that the chamber had closed its meetings to a wide audience since Tuesday. Almost all the problems in the work of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Mr. Kolokoltsev explained the low salaries of employees, while the deputies in response promised to help with financing.

The beginning of the plenary session of the lower chamber on October 19 was not even watched by journalists in the Duma press center: the internal broadcast was turned on only during the speech of Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev. Recall that since Tuesday, the leadership of the Duma decided to stop the online broadcast of plenary sessions on the website of the chamber in order to hide the discussion of issues related to the special operation in Ukraine. Later, the head of the youth policy committee, Artem Metelev, said on his Telegram channel that the meeting began with a discussion of the problem of mobilizing fathers of large families: according to the instructions of the General Staff, a deferment from partial mobilization should be granted to parents of three children under the age of 16, but “in fact, military registration and enlistment offices often not following directions.”

Minister Kolokoltsev during the “government hour” reported on the results of his work, namely the “reduction of crime and an increase in the detection of crimes.” At the same time, he complained about the “understaffing” of 20% of employees, which, according to him, “affects the efficiency of the whole team” (the workload and outflow of personnel increase). The main reason for this situation, according to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, is “chronic underfunding”: for example, “for the first time, a job seeker receives from 11,000 to 13,000 rubles a month. in one of the regions of the Central Federal District.

The deputies were especially worried about the image of the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. So, Anton Tkachev from New People noted that, according to sociological services, citizens least of all trust traffic police officers, anti-drug units and migration services of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The minister explained that “the whole reason is that we do not have a queue of people who want to find a job for these positions,” because there is no material motivation.

Andrei Lugovoy (LDPR), speaking on behalf of the faction, on the contrary, stated that “the confidence of citizens in the policeman has changed: we are on the streets, looking at the patrols that are passing by, we see these young people, beautifully dressed, educated, able to enter into a dialogue and explain to simple citizens any problems. According to him, the minister is “quite good” in fulfilling his tasks. In addition, the deputy suggested that the Ministry of Internal Affairs, together with the Ministry of Defense, study “the circumstances of the flight of citizens (after the announcement of partial mobilization.— “b”), compare the dates of issuance of the summons with the dates of departure from the country and, possibly, provide for forced labor duties for them in restoration work in the newly annexed territories.

Yuri Sinelshchikov, speaking on behalf of the Communist Party, concentrated on claims against the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Among them, he named the use of illegal forms of violence during public events: “The police ignore the legislation that regulates the procedures for the delivery and detention of citizens.” Also, according to the communist, corruption in the Ministry of Internal Affairs is becoming more dangerous: “Just 10 years ago, receiving a bribe by an employee of the internal affairs bodies was committed alone, now about 50% of such crimes are committed in a group with a clear distribution of roles.” At the same time, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation “understands well” that it is impossible to defeat grassroots corruption in the Ministry of Internal Affairs without increasing the salaries of employees, Mr. Sinelshchikov added.

Anatoly Lisitsyn (“A Just Russia – For Truth”) also believes that the Ministry of Internal Affairs does not receive sufficient funding, therefore, “maybe there is nothing to count on the high bar that we expect from our police.” The vice-speaker from the New People, Vladislav Davankov, thanked the minister and his deputies for their response to the party’s appeals: “Just the other day, we received an appeal when a car ran over a man in the Rostov region. We appealed and action was taken.” And United Russia Adalbi Shkhagoshev emphasized the work of the Ministry of Internal Affairs “with sabotage groups that are organized today by Ukraine,” and promised that the United Russia faction would do everything possible to reduce the shortage of employees.

Mr. Kolokoltsev thanked the deputies for their questions and objections and promised, in turn (in response to criticism of the communists), “to shove a few people somewhere in the crowd of protesters and draw up protocols there.”

Toward the end of the meeting, Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov came to the Duma, but the leadership of the chamber again preferred to discuss military issues, in contrast to the problems of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, in a completely closed mode.

Maria Makutina