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At March 25 sitting, the NA Standing Committee on Defense and Security debated the report on the procedure and results of the performance of the Government programme of the Republic of Armenia (2021-2026) for 2023. The document was taken as a note.

First, the Minister of Internal Affairs Vahe Ghazaryan presented the works done for the formation of the Ministry and the process of the structural transformation. The police, as a professional structure, will develop in 4 directions – Criminal Police, Patrol Service, Police Guard and Community Police. The police regional departments will be abolished, and the sub-divisions in 4 directions in Yerevan and in the regions will have their territorial sub-divisions.

According to Vahe Ghazaryan, the Patrol Service was introduced on the whole territory of the republic. It has a full new logistical equipment, including 630 cars being in factory condition. The Minister presented in detail the procedure of the service implementation, the activities of the water patrols.

During the reporting period, the legislative packages aimed at the reinterpretation of the Community Police and the transformation of the Criminal Police were passed by the National Assembly. The announced competition process was voiced for the recruitment of the Criminal Police.

Speaking about the concept of the formation of the Police Guard, Vahe Ghazaryan noted that the double status of the Police Guard is excluded: It will exclusively be a Police Service, taking out if from the legal status of the troops.

Touching upon the legislative reforms made in the police system, the Minister underscored that the policemen was given an opportunity to get a surcharge besides salary through attestation. According to him, before the operative employee receiving 222.000 AMD, excellently passing the attestation, gets 459.000 AMD. It was noted that the employees of the Rescue Service also make use of the opportunity of raising the payment through attestation.

To the Minister’s conviction, as a result of the reforms of the police system, the public trust towards the system increased. According to him, the analyses of the NGOs also testified to this.

It was noted that the Rescue Service was replenished with 8 sport utility vehicles (SUVs), 2 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, drones), the strategy of 2023-2030 of the disaster risk management and the 2023-2026 action plan were approved.

The work done within the framework of the illegal circulation of the drugs, disaster resistance, the migration flow management and other programmes were presented in detail.

Vahe Ghazaryan presented the registering process of our compatriots forcibly displaced from Nagorno Karabakh. At present, 76.339 persons received temporary protection certificate, 79.682 persons were registered, and 1437 persons applied for citizenship.

During the Q&A session and speeches, the deputies referred to the reforms in the prevention of road accidents, the accurate installation of the road signs by the relevant structure, the lack of markings in some places, providing lights of the highways, asymmetry in the use of force, toughening of punishment within the framework of the fight against drugs and the efficiency mechanisms of the fight.

As the Committee Chair Andranik Kocharyan assessed, in the reporting year large-scale reforms were made. He highly appreciated yesterday’s actions of the Police Ministry of Internal Affairs and the officers of the National Security Service, as a result of which the further developments were prevented. Let us remind, that the day before 3 armed persons with grenades approached the open window of the Nor Nork police station, threatened to blow up the police station with hand grenades.

The Minister also gave clarifications on a number of other issues concerning the deputies.