Broadcast "Conversation with the Minister": Half a year on air by radio station "Militia wave"

MW. Six months ago the first broadcast of the program "Conversation with the Minister" was carried out at our radio station. During this time we received quite a number of letters from our listeners. Burning issues of the Ministry of Interior's activity were touched upon in the broadcasts and explanations would be given for various aspects interesting for the citizens.

Today, we are addressing your letters again, dear radio listeners, to discuss the role and value of the open dialogue of citizens with our visitor, Minister of Interior of the Russian Federation Rashid Nurgaliev.

MW. Rashid Gumarovich, half a year has passed since you first appeared on the air of the radio station "Militia wave" within the limits of the program "Conversation with the Minister". Which intermediate results could you balance?

Minister. The decision to create this program was an important step in continuation of the dialogue between the Ministry of Interior and our citizens.

For a number of latest years the Ministry has been deliberately pursuing the policy of openness. These are in no event campaigns for campaigns themselves. We are engaged in real work to establish feedback with our citizens. Today for these purposes we take advantage of our "telephone hotlines", Internet technologies and the mass media.

Last December I made a decision to start the direct dialogue with citizens. For our citizens as well as many heads of Ministries of Interior, Central Internal Affairs Directorates, Internal Affairs Directorates in all subjects of the federation it is important to get to know first-hand what excites our society today, what problems and weak points there are in the organization of work of our units. And which, on the contrary, work well.

This decision has proven to be correct. For half a year only our broadcast received more than 400 messages from our listeners. I read all letters personally, take them under control, give commissions to respective services and units for a more detailed investigation and taking measures according to the situation.

MW. Rashid Gumarovich, the first releases of our broadcast almost coincided with the beginning of a reform at the Ministry of Interior...

Minister. It is indeed so. This is why we regularly report measures taken today at the Ministry of Interior of Russia within the limits of reforming the department. We try to tell in detail about all changes occurring in the Russian militia.

It shall be noticed that beside questions we receive specific suggestions from our listeners which concern the improvement of quality of work of employees of law enforcement bodies. It means that our society is not indifferent towards who and how will protect the rights, freedoms and lives of our citizens.

I would like to thank all our listeners for their attention to changes occurring at the Ministry of Interior and for the interesting suggestions as well as critical remarks which we also consider as a whole to write the new Law "About militia" as competently as possible.

It is worth mentioning that the project of the concept which we have discussed both in the Public council and in our Coordination council will be published in the near future. I think there we will receive more additional letters and hope there will be many interesting offers which will enable us to prepare the basic legal document even better.

MW. Rashid Gumarovich, half a year is a period when one not only sums up but also analyzes and draws conclusions. What conclusion have you made after six months of the direct dialogue with citizens?

Minister. First of all, the number of messages and claims which arrive in law enforcement bodies (not only official notifications about crimes submitted to alert departments, but also via "telephone hotlines", the Internet and in our broadcast) means that not everything is safe in terms of the respect for the law. Therefore, the first set of questions I would designate as "respect for the law". Most serious preventive measures should be thereupon taken to increase the legal competence of the population.

Besides, many our citizens are not fully aware of their rights and duties. This is frequently taken advantage of by criminals. That is the second set of questions which could be called "unawareness of the rights and duties".

Concerning the complaints against actions of militia employees (which could be defined as the third set of questions) they prove that the policy of clearing law enforcement bodies from those who dishonors honor and dignity of militia employees chosen by the Ministry's management was correct. And we do it openly. This should be opposed together, with participation of all healthy forces of our society.

MW. Rashid Gumarovich, what can you tell about the level of citizens' trust in employees of law enforcement bodies?

Minister. After notorious tragic events involving employees of law enforcement bodies, the level of citizens' trust has certainly, decreased. Another instance is that when in trouble citizens have to address directly to the management of the Ministry of Interior rather than writing a message to the territorial body of militia. What does it show us? It means that not all people see a reliable defender of their rights and freedoms in an ordinary militia officer.

Restoring the unfairly lost trust and support from the society is a priority problem of the Ministry of Interior. This question is especially urgent in relation to our modernization. It is impossible to succeed in transformations without the society's support. In this respect, as I already said many times, we sincerely hope for the assistance of our citizens.

MW. Do you plan to change the mechanism of interaction of militia with the population in the near future?

Minister. Certainly. These changes will ensure more transparency of law enforcement bodies for citizens. In particular, the public opinion will be one of leading criteria of assessment of the law enforcement bodies' activity.

We plan to launch a procedure of obligatory reports of territorial law enforcement bodies before the population about the work accomplished. Therefore, the public control over militia activity will be strengthened.

In the near future many services offered by law enforcement bodies to the population will be rendered in an electronic form. This will also considerably lower chances for conflict situations occurring between militia employees and citizens.

In the near future there will also be changes in the organization of work of the official website of the Ministry of Interior of Russia. These changes will concern not only the design, but also the maintenance. The website will contain more interactive services and we will add usability as well.

MW. Rashid Gumarovich, what would you at last tell our listeners summing up the results of the six-month dialogue on the air?

Minister. Frankly speaking, I did not expect such a great stream of letters in our address. In Some way I many interesting facets of problems opened for me. This is due to our listeners. They listen to us with great attention, they evaluate our broadcast and appeal to us. Over these six months a mutual stream of information has been felt. It seems to me, it helps us learn each other closer.

We will continue our dialogue with you, dear radio listeners, on the air of the "Militia wave".

MW. Well, and our time is over for the time being. Thanks a lot, Rashid Gumarovich, for the substantial and detailed conversation.

Broadcast "Conversation with the Minister" at the radio station "Militia wave",

www.mvd.ru

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