Since the Soviet times the police (then called
militia) was considered to be among the least popular jobs. Of course, there
were professionals devoted to their work, but daily routine killed their
aspirations. Strong patriarchal relations led to flourishing of corruption. Can
those negative trends be overcome in the course of the current reforms?
Arsen Avakov, the Minister of Internal Affairs, demands more and more money on the police reforms. 2017 police budget is expected to reach 15 bln UAH (0.6 bln USD). Minimum police salary is higher than the country’s average; top officials receive salaries 10 times the country’s average. Most of the money paid by Japan according to Kioto agreements on environmental protection, especially exhausts, is spent on purchasing the latest hybrid vehicles from Japanese manufacturers – Toyota Prius and Mitsubishi Outlander namely.
But the police management always want more. They declare that crime prevention and investigation are the basis of any state. Yet, it looks like a creation of a highly privileged caste. And isn’t school education even more important in raising a reasonable citizen?
Considering the history of the police, that was an ally of the KGB terror in the USSR, and then was deemed a major coverup for the large part of any illegal activities, people tend not to believe in its reforms. Additionally, the idea of re-attestation aimed at re-confirmation of old militia men in their posts has failed as almost 100% of the old staff have passed it or were reinstated via court rulings. So people daily meet policemen with $300-500/month salaries who live in huge mansions and drive the latest luxurious cars. It is clear that they have found ways of the illegal enrichment.
Unless the corruption inside the police is severely fought, its credibility will remain low. The latest initiative of Avakov is to introduce the principle of the implicit obedience to the demands of the police. But who want to obey orders of a person that is most likely is anxious about its wallet but not the public order?
