Russian ex-finance minister proposes police reforms

Russian ex-Minister for Finances Alexey Kudrin proposed reforms for the Interior Ministry. The separation of police into municipal, regional and federal departments is one of the main ideas of the reform.

Irina Yarovaya, head of the Russian parliamentary commission for security and corruption control, called the idea expensive and destructive, Victor Ivanov, head of the FDCS, emphasized that crime should be fought using socio-economic measures, not reforms, Vladimir Kolesnikov, ex-Deputy Interior Minister, noted that subdivisions of the Interior Ministry could only be organized vertically and be efficient only under full centralization.

Sergey Goncharov, a member of the security commission of the Moscow City Council, said that Kudrin’s proposal was rational, but the main problem was the municipal police, officers who would work with problems of local residents. The latter will, in turn, rate the efficiency of the police.

The expert pointed out that realization of the proposal would quickly bump into the problem of financing. Municipal budgets will never have enough money for police upkeep. Secondly, Goncharov mentions that the project gives no clear details about salaries of officers depending on their category. Lower-level officer would not want to take the jobs when their higher counterparts get paid more.

Russian ex-Minister for Finances Alexey Kudrin proposed reforms for the Interior Ministry. The separation of police into municipal, regional and federal departments is one of the main ideas of the reform.Irina Yarovaya, head of the Russian parliamentary commission for security and corruption control, called the idea expensive and destructive, Victor Ivanov, head of the FDCS, emphasized that crime should be fought using socio-economic measures, not reforms, Vladimir Kolesnikov, ex-Deputy Interior Minister, noted that subdivisions of the Interior Ministry could only be organized vertically and be efficient only under full centralization.Sergey Goncharov, a member of the security commission of the Moscow City Council, said that Kudrin’s proposal was rational, but the main problem was the municipal police, officers who would work with problems of local residents. The latter will, in turn, rate the efficiency of the police.The expert pointed out that realization of the proposal would quickly bump into the problem of financing. Municipal budgets will never have enough money for police upkeep. Secondly, Goncharov mentions that the project gives no clear details about salaries of officers depending on their category. Lower-level officer would not want to take the jobs when their higher counterparts get paid more.