In Ukrainian cities after independence one after another began to appear municipal police forces. These formations on protection of a public order has already become involved in scandals in the regions, including after questionable appointments such as in the river, where the head of the municipal police was the former local commander of “Golden Eagle” Andrey Tkachenko. “Apostrophe” understood that it represents municipal police, for which it was created by the mayors of major cities, and who pays for this structure.
The police without the law
The establishment of municipal police was one of the conditions of the coalition agreement drawn up by the Parliament of the VIII convocation. For the realization of ideas in the Parliament was the draft law “On municipal guard”. Its authors were the leaders of the factions “Batkivschyna”, “Samopomich”, “Block of Petro Poroshenko” and the Radical party. The draft law assumes that the municipal guards created by the decision of local authorities: city Council, village Council, the local community. Accordingly, municipalities are financed from local budgets and strictly comply with the local objectives for the protection of public order, of the monuments of history, culture and communal property, follow the rules of landscaping, cleanliness of streets, proper Parking of vehicles, organization of trade. That is, perform all Supervisory administrative functions, and block of criminal offences remains with Nicolicea.
But, on first reading the draft law “On municipal guard” in Parliament did not go. The main legal management of VR and scientific and management expertise have criticized the draft law as one whose rule is not consistent with the current legislation of Ukraine, and certain provisions written in the abstract. For example, the document does not clearly delineated the functions of municipal and National police, and the clause stating that municipalities can restrict the rights and freedoms of citizens”, if another way cannot be fulfilled lies with the municipal guard jobs”, the lawyers of BP is considered as a broad field for discretion and abuse.
Despite the fact that the bill the deputies have postponed for an indefinite period, in some cities of Ukraine up municipal police forces, which have been decorated by local authorities as utility companies. Under the current law “On local self-government” Executive bodies of city, settlement and village councils have the right to create law enforcement groups, which contain at the expense of local government. A license for such activity, which is recorded documents as “security”, gives the interior Ministry. KP with power functions already created in Vinnytsia, Kremenchug, Odesa, Druzhkovka, Dnipro, Lviv and other Ukrainian cities.
So what do the team? For example, the report of the municipal police of the Dnieper said that in 2016 the municipal police found that the theft of two TUI, held talks with teenagers about harm of alcohol and tobacco, were brought to the protection of public order on the occasion of the last call, the concert of “Okean Elzy”, days, Japan, drove natural traders and closed points of illegal sale of alcohol.
“Our goal is the prevention of offenses during the mass events in the river, for example, football matches, says “Apostrophe” details of their work, the employee of the municipal police of the Dnieper, Vladimir Sinelnikov. We have been patrolling places where people congregate, such as parks, squares, waterfront. Guard the objects of municipal value. Doing preventive maintenance of Kiosks and so-called “Nalivaiko”: bottling of alcohol in shallow dishes. Record the facts of violations of trade rules. Do preventive work with difficult teenagers in the schools, boarding schools, orphanages. Patrolled the streets of the city on official cars. Responding to the complaints of citizens with various requests for assistance, advice and, of course, work closely and support the national police in the fight against crime”.
The salary of the team, according to the police, is very different from the salaries of their colleagues from police patrol. For example, in Odessa the municipal police received 300 UAH for days of duty, and in the river the salary of the militiaman-public utilities — 4.5 thousand UAH per month, plus bonuses, as “Apostrophe” said municipal police themselves. While police patrol a month get up to 8 thousand hryvnias.
Why is it necessary
But what the local authorities to produce a new, law enforcement authorities in their regions if their activities are still tied up under the work of the national police? According to the head of Department on interaction with law enforcement agencies to maintain law and order and community safety, Kyiv city state administration Oleg Khaskovo, the same Kiev municipalities is needed in order to relieve the police.
“To give them the opportunity to engage in severe offences and crimes in the sphere of improvement, and protection of communal ownership, we as a city are willing to take,” explained “Apostrophe” Kujawski.
Even the municipal police claim that it is not a substitute for their activities the work of the national police. “Since we do not collect primary material, only the administrative records. We do not use firearms. Only non-lethal weapons permitted by law: body armor, helmets, shields,” — said Vladimir Sinelnikov.
Units of the municipal police work in practically all the developed countries of Europe: Poland, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Switzerland, and the United States. They work as the bodies to prevent violations of the so-called “preventive police”. However, according to the Director of the research Center of law-enforcement activity Oleg Martynenko, local municipalities appear in the cities for quite different reasons.
“If the municipal police on the European model, it deals with administrative offences and minor criminal offences, collects the materials and submits it to the court and serious crimes involved the Central government. Municipal guards, who work for us, usually want to have all the mayors to protect themselves from violent attacks and also to ensure that they performed the function of collecting payment from defaulters and Parking lots. But the last function can perform basic municipal services”, — told the “Apostrophe” Martynenko.
With the expert agrees and is known to volunteer the novel Sinitsyn. “It is actually the pocket of the security structure, which is very similar to the police, each local or feudal potentates. Each conditional mayor of a regional center wants to have his “stick”. To prevent trafficking? They will just loot to collect — all” — said “Apostrophe” volunteer.
So the team does not become personal guardians of the interests of the mayor, according to human rights activist Eduard Bagirov that there is a simple recipe. “Of course, such a structure is necessary, but in that case, if the leaders of the municipal police will be appointed for an open ballot for the residents of a particular district, administrative unit. Until then, while the chiefs of the municipalities will appoint the head of district administration, district Council, city Council, it will be a corrupt structure”, — assured the “Apostrophe” expert.
And while the municipalities, for example, Lviv KP “Municipal militia” does not even conceal that one of the objectives of the company — “protection deputies and officials of the city Council from illegal encroachments”.
By the way, the activities of the team flies to the local budgets to the penny, and to afford its own law enforcement officers can only large city. For example, the budget of Kremenchug on the services of such cops laid 3.2 million hryvnia.
Cops or nedotepy
The cornerstone of the work of the team are their powers and the answer to the question: do these cops the right to detain citizens? As the draft law “On municipal guard” is still gathering dust in Parliament, each KP with power functions is guided by its own Charter, which was adopted at the session of local deputies. It turns out that depending on the city the powers of the municipal cops are different. For example, the municipal authorities of Lviv have the right to charge a Parking fee, controlling the rules of trade in alcoholic and tobacco products, and their colleagues from Chernihiv, according to the Statute, have no such rights.
Because of the opacity of the powers of the municipalities between them and the citizens there are conflicts. So it was in June last year in the river. The essence of the conflict “Apostrophe” said a member of the public organization “self-Defense entrepreneurs” Irina Golovko.
“It’s the security of KP participated in the attempted demolition of the dairy kiosk member of our organization on the street novokryms’ke. Early in the morning by a kiosk defiantly drove three buses. Two were strange people in unmarked military uniforms in the third, as it turned out — the usual aunts. Not making any claims on the part of the CP began splashing people with gas and beat. Police report was written, medical opinion, burns of the eyes is presented, but no action to this structure is not adopted. Incidentally, this is another kiosk new owner. Order and demolished — the site was released”, — complains head.
As explained by “Apostrophe” lawyer of the Dnieper Yulia Segeda, the prefix “police” in the name of the team is illegal, and therefore, to require citizens to produce documents, unlike real police, utility workers are not eligible.
“There are security guard activities law, which prohibits the use of names of public bodies. But the leadership of the city we decided that the name “police” people will get confused, and in fact was released a pirated copy of the police: were copied form of national police, Chevron. In the end, the layman does not distinguish the National from the municipal police. Municipalities require you to produce documents, and people listen to them, fulfill their demands, because they believe that it is the real police,” — said the expert.
To avoid confusion, the interior Ministry has decided to ban local authorities to use the word “police” in the name of the team. “Everyone will have to reregister and remove the word “police” from their names. Municipal formations on protection of a public order can be called “guards” or something like that local government is already fancy enough, but “police” can be in the country, only one — namely the national police of Ukraine, — said the speaker of the Ministry of internal Affairs Artem Shevchenko.
According to lawyers interviewed by “Apostrophe”, the activities of municipalities according to their legal form are really the closest to security. But this format limits of the KP in the power authority, so some mayors are going the other way, contributing to the creation of social groups of citizens. This scheme works “Municipal VARTA” in Kiev.
“It operates in the legal form of “social formation”, because to ensure that public order might be the only legal form of “social formation”. The utility can only provide a security function, says “Apostrophe” Oleg Kujawski. — According to the law “About participation of citizens in public order protection”, the law of ambiguity, “Municipal VARTA”, on the one hand, can act together with the police, and on the other, they have the right to detain offenders and deliver to his staff if you have exhausted other methods of influence”.
In addition, members of public formations have the right to make administrative reports on offenders, and employees of security agencies, even utilities, such powers have not. “The detention of a person by security personnel is not an administrative arrest”, — said in the text of the law “About security activity”.
But by themselves utilities, as they were called, even the police, no rights, according to the only law that allows you to use the right of detention, do not have. This “Apostrophes” said lawyer Denis Monastery.
“In the law “On the National police” nothing about them says. Accordingly, local authorities are trying to find Golden middle. On the one hand, we need money for uniforms, vehicles, gasoline, etc., but the city is on the social formation to give the money, so are KP. But KP is not empowered to arrest, patrolling and the use of special equipment. It empowered community groups. So this creates a symbiotic relationship: social formation, as a rule, of the same name, and the utility company. But in the case when there is a mass event, there are people in black or blue and begin to use force, it raises many questions: on what basis, in the framework of the law and who are they?” — said the expert.
If, however, the team are trying to detain a citizen, or even apply non-lethal weapons, lawyers are advised to immediately call the real cops. “Here depends on legal status, which is the police. If this status is “public formation” and the arrest during a peaceful rally or a violation of human rights, for example, the beating of special means, it is necessary to call the Netpolicy and to fix the violation on video, so you can present this evidence to the police, because of the offense of public records that Netpolice,” — said Monastery.
But while in Ukraine will be a law which would clearly and transparently regulate the activities of municipal police officers, the situation with the “nemokami” will remain on the verge of law and arbitrariness. “But, unfortunately, the subject interested in the adoption of such a law, today in Ukraine”, — summed up Denis Monastery.
