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President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: The Law On the Police Force has come into force today. I hope that all law enforcement agencies are well prepared for this fundamental document, which defines the status of the police and determines the way the Interior Ministry will work in the coming years. In order for the law to be efficient, it was necessary to sign a number of executive orders, and I would like to inform you that I have signed them. There are seven executive orders in total, each of which has direct relevance to the Interior Ministry and the police.

The first executive order is called The Organisation of the Police Force. It delineates the responsibilities of various police agencies and departments, that is, defines the agencies that perform the primary functions of the police.

The second document I signed is of a general nature, and it approves the statute of the Interior Ministry and its central administration structure. The executive order is called Issues of the Interior Ministry of the Russian Federation. Naturally, the Ministry statute, as well as the central administration structure, underwent revision with the enactment of the new law [On the Police Force]. I hope that this structure will be sensible, compact and at the same time adequate for the effective management of law enforcement agencies, including the police.

The third document I signed approves the standard regulations for the territorial agencies of the Interior Ministry [Executive Order On Approving Standard Regulations for Regional Agencies of the Russian Federation Interior Ministry in Each Region of the Russian Federation]. It approves the statute of the central internal affairs directorate or the Interior Ministry in the regions and republics and defines their functions, objectives, rights and responsibilities.

“The Law on the Police Force has come into force today. I hope that all law enforcement agencies are well prepared for the entry into force of this fundamental document, which defines the status of the police and determines the way the Interior Ministry will work in the coming years. In order for the law to be efficient, it was necessary to sign a number of executive orders.”

Another executive order establishes a very important procedure, namely an extraordinary (special) certification of law enforcement officers [Executive Order On Unscheduled Certification of Internal Affairs Personnel]. This certification is stipulated by Article 54 of the Law On the Police Force. To this end, we have established a Presidential commission for special certification of the Russian Federation law enforcement agencies’ personnel applying for senior positions. This commission will be headed by the Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office [Sergei Naryshkin]. Naturally, the results will be reported to me, and I as the President of the Russian Federation will make the final decision and sign relevant executive orders.

At the same time it is necessary to organise the work with candidates. It is your responsibility to submit nominations for positions to be filled by March 15, and to conduct by June 1 a comprehensive extraordinary certification of Interior Ministry personnel applying for senior positions in law enforcement agencies; this applies to all positions except top leadership.

This is a very important procedure. We have agreed that following the certification all those who have shown themselves to be honest and hardworking law enforcement officers, former militia officers, will join the police. Those who will not pass this certification, whose performance is judged to be inferior, who is perhaps in the wrong job (not to mention those who inspire more serious doubts, including violations and ongoing disciplinary proceedings) will not be recruited for service in the police or the Interior Ministry.

I hope that the certification will help us create a law enforcement structure that will be more efficient, more modern and more attentive to the citizens’ needs. I hope that everyone who joins the police will perform their duties conscientiously, and that their top priority will be to defend people’s rights and the interests of our nation and state. Therefore, the sacred duty of the police is to respect the inalienable rights and freedoms of citizens.

At the same time, the scope of objectives remains largely unchanged: it includes the investigation of crimes, monitoring public order and migration control. All these tasks are the responsibilities of the Interior Ministry and its departments. Therefore, the structure I have approved is made up of several blocks which will be in charge of relevant activities: there is the police and the Interior Ministry department that investigates crimes, and other Ministry departments.

I also signed an executive order that approves the list of senior officials of the Interior Ministry, the Federal Migration Service and other agencies [Executive Order On Approving the List of Senior Officials of the Russian Federation Interior Ministry, the Federal Migration Service, the Office for Coordinating Efforts against Organised Crime and Other Dangerous Crimes on the Territory of the Commonwealth of Independent States, and the Relevant Position Titles]. These parameters cannot be exceeded.

I also signed an executive order establishing the upper limit of personnel in the Interior Ministry of the Russian Federation: from January 1, 2012 the Interior Ministry, which is funded by federal budget allocations, will be able to have no more than 1,106,472 staff. This is taking into account the personnel cuts resulting from one of my earlier orders issued in connection with Interior Ministry reforms.

Finally, one of the executive orders has to do with declaring inoperative the documents that regulated these issues in the past.

This is a solid package of documents, but that’s not important. Once again: the main objective is that the work of the police is based on the new law, in full compliance with the Constitution and in line with the tasks facing the Interior Ministry and relevant police departments.

Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev: Thank you, Mr President. This is a very serious step for us because, along with the reforms and in compliance with the law On the Police Force, we must protect the rights and freedoms of our citizens and defend the country’s internal security. We will do it. I assure you that everything that has been approved by the executive orders will be directed to the benefit and protection of the interests of our citizens and ensuring the country’s security.

Dmitry Medvedev: Get to work.