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President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev: Good afternoon, comrades, colleagues,

I want to start by thanking you for your conscientious service. Most of those working in the police and the Ministry of Internal Affairs selflessly perform their professional duties, and it is thanks to their daily work that crimes are prevented and the crime rate in general is on the decline in our country.

But you know very well that the crime situation in our country remains very complicated. You know the statistics not from hearsay and you know that they show that the situation is still far from meeting the public’s expectations. Last year alone, more than 3.2 million crimes were registered, of which more than 1.5 million were economic crimes – theft, robbery, and crimes against property.

In this context, I want to name some priority tasks. One of the key tasks is without any doubt to increase the number of crimes solved and guarantee victims’ rights. Last year, the guilty parties were not identified in more than 1.5 million crimes. This figure speaks for itself. This includes more than 2,300 murders and attempted murders. The situation with solving crimes against property is also not good. To a large extent, this is related to the quality of investigation work. There can be only one criterion for measuring effectiveness, and that is the number of crimes solved, with the perpetrators brought to justice and convicted.

I think it is equally clear to you that one of your top priorities is to pay the utmost attention to public order, all the more so as we face difficulties at the moment and are feeling the effects of the financial crisis, which has increased unemployment and exacerbated social problems in general in our country. At such a time, there are inevitably people who try to speculate on these problems and take advantage of the situation. It is therefore essential to ensure that what is an already difficult situation does not become even more complicated, and one of your duties is to keep constant watch on the state of affairs in the regions and at local level throughout the country.

Another pressing issue is that of illegal economic immigration. We know that the number of crimes committed by immigrants from our close neighbours is growing from year to year, and the figures have reached worrying proportions. At a time when the market for foreign labour has shrunk by half, not only are cases of people working illegally a possibility, but we could see a worsening in the crime situation in general. I think that the Ministry of Internal Affairs also needs to keep this issue under its constant control.

Turning to another subject, we have said often of late that civil servants should not put obstacles in the way of business development, especially that of small and medium businesses, and the law enforcement agencies, including the police force, should not turn the fight against crime into an endless succession of checks and inspections of people and organisations engaged in business activity. I say again now that checks should be carried out only on the basis of a statement that a crime has been committed, as part of investigations in criminal cases.

Another matter is the provisions of the recently adopted anti-corruption legislation. These provisions apply fully to state employees too, including Ministry of Internal Affairs employees. You must pay close attention to personnel work and suppress even the smallest infringements of the law by police officers.

Extremism in our society has become particular worrying of late. Crime in general decreased last year, but crimes of an extremist nature rose by practically a third. I will not repeat the simple facts that Russia is a multiethnic country and a country of many religious faiths. These kinds of crimes cause immense harm to our country and are a systemic threat to our society. I have issued a decree for the Ministry of Internal Affairs to set up specialised sub-divisions to fight extremism, and I hope that this will help to make work in this area more effective.

Crime prevention is an absolutely central issue. This is essentially a question of the entire law enforcement system’s effectiveness. The focus here should be on crime prevention among the high risk groups such as previous offenders and drug addicts. These efforts should not be limited to simply keeping watch on their behaviour. Measures to help them readapt to society also need to be a part of this work. It is a known fact that successful social adaptation of people in difficult circumstances in life results in a considerable decrease in the crime rate. This goes above all for young people. Last year, minors committed or were implicated in more than 100,000 crimes, a third of which were serious or very serious crimes.

Colleagues, the Ministry of Internal Affairs estimates that 760,000 children in Russia are living in socially precarious situations today. More than 120,000 children were the victims of criminal acts last year. Just looking at the figures is enough of a shock, not to mention thinking about what these children have to live through. Clearly, we need to take new measures to guarantee the safety and protection of children and adolescents, and this includes legal measures. All of this is directly related to crime prevention, which is without a doubt a task for the country as a whole. But I want to remind you that it is the Ministry of Internal Affairs that is responsible for coordinating this work. I hope to see you step up efforts in this area, and I hope to see positive practical results.

Another issue I want to mention in concluding my brief opening remarks is that of the situation in the North Caucasus. The situation remains tense there. Extremists have stepped up their terrorist and sabotage activities and at the same time are attempting to carry out a campaign to discredit the authorities in the republics of the North Caucasus. Protecting law and order in this region is one of our strategic missions and this has not changed. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is on the frontline here and needs to work very closely with the other security and law enforcement agencies.

I also want to note in particular the courage and selflessness of the Ministry of Internal Affairs personnel during the events in South Ossetia and the relief work there to deal with the humanitarian disaster.

Comrades, in conclusion I would like to say once more that our citizens expect the law enforcement agencies to show effectiveness in combating crime and protecting law and order. People need to know that their safety and their lawful interests are reliably protected. This is our key priority for the long years ahead. I am sure that you will do everything you can to achieve these objectives.

***

Colleagues, I would like to say a couple of words in response to what the minister and several other speakers have said.

There is nothing new about the priority tasks that have been set. They are traditional goals, but unfortunately, have lost none of their relevance. I would just like to do a little summing up.

I think there are a number of issues that deserve particular attention. The Minister of Internal Affairs, the Prosecutor General, and the Chairman of the Federation Council all said the same thing in their remarks. One of these issues is extremism. This is an exceptionally serious threat. I do not think that I need to convince those present just what dangers extremist manifestations pose, especially in a time of crisis. Crimes of this kind can shake the foundations of even the most stable and prosperous society. I therefore say once again to the heads of the Ministry of Internal Affairs that you must keep very close watch on these kinds of manifestations and acts, especially in today’s situation. I hope that this issue will get the attention it deserves from all of the law enforcement agencies: the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB, the Prosecutor’s Office, and the regional authorities.

Another issue the minister mentioned in his speech was the fight against corruption – one of our country’s biggest priorities. As we agreed, provisions have been enacted and we have passed the law enabling them to be enforced. I hope that you will make more active use of them. For the last decade I have heard that there is no legal definition of corruption in our country and that this is why the laws do not work. Now we have this definition, and I ask you to use it. Of course, this law is for everybody, including for the Ministry of Internal Affairs itself.

The issue of ensuring its own security remains of crucial importance today for the ministry. You know your own problem areas.

Control over budget funds, especially during the crisis situation, is absolutely necessary. Of course, the Ministry of Internal Affairs does not have sole responsibility in this area; there are also other bodies, the watchdog agencies, but you also have your part to play in this work. There is a lot of money, inflation has increased, and this creates extra pressure and also contributes to worsening the crime situation. The Ministry of Internal Affairs therefore needs to keep watch on developments too.

Some tasks are more comprehensive in nature. I mentioned the issue of crime prevention. Yesterday, I looked into reports on the circumstances of the tragic accident in Komi. This was a case of total irresponsibility and all-round negligence. Even the old people’s home itself that burned down together with its residents was not legally registered. And no one made a move. If anyone did do anything, it was only at the purely formal level. Did the police not know that this building did not legally exist, that it what was not even registered? They did nothing. Rashid Gumarovich [Nurgaliyev, Minister of Internal Affairs], you need to investigate and report on what was done in this area. There are many such examples. Only when fire breaks out do we suddenly sit up and take notice.

Another issue I think we definitely must discuss is that we have a situation today in which public life and social relations change rapidly. We need to be able to respond in swifter and better targeted fashion to such change. If required, we need to change the criminal laws and criminal-procedural laws. This applies too to criminalising or decriminalising particular acts. I think that in this respect, Sergei Mikhailovich [Mironov, Chairman of the Federation Council] is right: it is essential to organise full cooperation between the law enforcement agencies, investigation bodies, and the legislators. We need to respond more accurately and flexibly to the changes taking place.

Another subject I must mention is that of the ministry’s material resources base and the social situation of its employees.

The development of new technology and the establishment and use of modern global data bases has had an impact on the ministry’s work too. I saw (and the report mentions this too) that the ministry has established a special common information communications system. This is a good step. I hope that the whole system will start working in full, because at the moment it is clearly not working in all places and is not reaching down to the lowest levels. It is working in Moscow and St Petersburg, and as far as I know is also functioning in the regional capitals, but it needs to be working in every district office, in every village that has a Ministry of Internal Affairs office. You therefore need to continue this work. I think this is very important. Without this kind of system it will soon be simply not possible to work.

Another issue is that of social protection for ministry employees. Work needs to continue on giving Ministry of Internal Affairs’ employees an attractive social status. This work needs to continue regardless of the crisis, because if you do not do these people will leave, and more important still, employees simply will not be able to carry out their professional duties as they should. Therefore, despite the current difficulties and the problems with the state budget, this issue needs to stay at the top of the agenda for the ministry’s heads, because the ministry’s ability to do its job depends on this work.

Colleagues, comrades, I would like to thank you once again for your service and wish you success in your work.