The process of self-purification of the structures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has actually frozen, and corruption is silenced, and this cannot be ignored.
this is also required by the recommendations of the EU – an expert” alt=”The authorities should not postpone the reform of the Ministry of Internal Affairs until peacetime, because this is also required by the recommendations of the EU – an expert” />
The Ukrainian authorities should not postpone internal cleansing and reforming the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs until the end of the war, as it would be wrong not only from the point of view of morality, but also from the point of view of political necessity – one of the recommendations of the European Union for the accession of our state directly concerns the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It is about the need to adopt a comprehensive strategic plan for reforming the entire law and order sector as part of the security environment of Ukraine, noted expert of the Center for Political and Legal Reforms Yevhen Krapyvin in an article for ZN.UA “The Ministry of Internal Affairs: what made the system survive , and does it need to be transformed in the conditions of war?”.
He noted that the previous criticism of illegal activity practices and corruption in the ministry remains relevant, despite the war. In addition, against the background of hostilities, the process of self-cleansing has actually frozen, and corruption is carefully silenced by the relevant authorities.
“It seems that only under pressure from the Europeans and the Americans have the investigations intensified in the last two weeks , in particular related to corruption schemes in customs, procurement, humanitarian affairs. Unfortunately, there are dozens and hundreds of perpetrators of all these crimes, including within the MIA system itself,” Krapyvin added.
Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin reported that the Interdepartmental Working Group has already developed a project of the Comprehensive Strategic Plan for the Reform of Law Enforcement Bodies for 2023-2027, which the EU recommends for adoption. The document was sent to the president's office for study and further approval by Volodymyr Zelenskyi's decree.
The priorities of the project, in particular, were determined to ensure the effectiveness and efficiency of law enforcement agencies; development of a result-oriented management system; complex digital transformation of the system, as well as its openness, transparency, accountability, independence and political neutrality. In essence, according to the expert, this means the continuation of reforms that were not completed after the Revolution of Dignity.
In particular, Krapyvin believes that although qualitatively new bodies and units are working in Ukraine, it is still difficult to say about their formation of the system. It is rather a coexistence of new and old structures and personnel.
“And this is a problem, because after the end of the war, we will again start the old story of “cleansing”, “certification”, “reboot”. To do this successfully is almost impossible, often simply – unconstitutional, so it is better to change the internal structure: for example, to reform the criminal unit of the police, combine the positions of an investigator and operative worker, introduce a clear evaluation system based on the criteria of the quality of work – and only then see how people “make a living” in these new structures,” he suggested.
According to the expert, if effective systems of evaluation and disciplinary responsibility work in Ukraine, inefficient law enforcement officers will be fired naturally.
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Krapyvin also pointed to the preservation of excessive political influence in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The challenge is one of the biggest, especially against the background of the active involvement of law enforcement officers in wartime tasks, as a result of which the bodies of the ministry will be the key power block of the state responsible for internal security for a long time.
“At the same time, unsuccessful personnel decisions, tolerance to corruption or simply not responding to systemic problems can create situations in which this resource will be used against Ukrainians. Therefore, today we are engaged in de-oligarchization, but at the same time we must not forget that the bodies that have a monopoly on the use of force also need meticulous attention,” emphasized the representative of the Center for Political and Legal Reforms.
At the same time, he clarified that the EU recommendations are designed for peacetime, so they do not include the problematic issues of war. However, the expert does not consider it critical if, along with a comprehensive strategic plan for reforming law enforcement bodies, Ukraine will have a high-quality state (public) policy on such issues. this is a peacetime system), the other is what challenges war poses to it today and how we can preserve the law and order system until peacetime. Thus, despite the stability of the MIA system in wartime, it should not be the result of sporadic efforts of good leaders or grassroots the initiative of subordinates, but part of a stable, consistent, effective wartime state policy“, concluded Yevhen Krapyvin.
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Read more articles by Evgeny Krapyvin at the links.
