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Interior Ministry reform caused personnel shortages - Kolokoltsev

Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev has acknowledged structural miscalculations in reforming the police force

MOSCOW, October 17 (Itar-Tass) —— Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev has acknowledged structural miscalculations in reforming the police force.

“Analysis has exposed structural miscalculations in the reform, gaps in the intra-departmental regulatory base, misuse of the available resources and a low pace of introducing new technologies,” Kolokoltsev told the State Duma on Wednesday.

Kolokoltsev recalled that the reform had slashed the Interior Ministry’s personnel by 20 percent.

“The original intention was the cuts would concern mostly office staff. But we have encountered a shortage of patrol service personnel, neighborhood inspectors and detectives working in the field,” Kolokoltsev said.

He said the situation in the rural areas was of particular concern. One fifth of the crimes committed in the country occurred in rural areas.

In the first phase of the reform the strength of neighborhood police inspectors was reduced by 16 percent. “In some districts one inspector is to keep an eye on 67 villages located ten kilometers away from each other,” Kolokoltsev said. A tiny 57 percent of rural police inspectors have motor vehicles.

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