ROSTOV POLICE MOVE TO A NEW BEAT

Story from BBC NEWS:
/6944528.stm
Published: 2007/08/14 07:09:06 GMT

In the third of a series from southern Russia, the BBC’s Steven
Eke reports on the challenges facing police in Rostov, a city once
associated with gangland violence.

I joined a deputy divisional commander, Ilya Zaporozhtsev, and his
junior, squad commander Sergei Kubov, as they went out on weekend duty.

Both are members of the patrol service, a division of the Russian
police (militsiya) .

They drove at a leisurely speed, keeping a sharp eye out for anything
unusual.

Thriving, bustling Rostov-on-Don is a major city, the capital of
Russia’s southern federal region, with a population of more than one
million. It is attracting investors and its wide thoroughfares have
taken on a smart, modern look.

Rostov-on-Don’s authorities are running a "safe city programme"
aimed at curbing crime.

The policy includes a much tougher approach to the registration of
migrants and foreigners.

The police explained to me that, in essence, it means tracking people
from the moment they enter Russia to the moment they leave, or simply
move location.

Alert buttons

The other key element of this programme is making the police more
accessible.

The authorities have established "alert buttons" at key points in
the city.

By pressing a button installed on a special panel, the caller
immediately establishes a video link to police headquarters to report
a problem.

The officers stopped to carry out an ID check on two young men near
Rostov’s main train station.

It turned out that both were refugees from Abkhazia, a breakaway
region of Georgia.

While Division Commander Zaporozhtsev briskly interrogated the men
about their presence and movements, Commander Kubov radioed their
details through to police headquarters.

Everything was in order, and they were allowed to go after a few
minutes.

I pointed out that ethnic minorities in Russia are often specifically
targeted for such checks, and that they consider them racist.

Division Commander Zaporozhtsev rejected this. He insisted that
specific types of crime were overwhelmingly committed by particular
ethnic groups.

Georgians, he said, carried out robberies and burglaries. Azeris,
he added, were to blame for the high rates of crime at outdoor markets.

Both officers said they enjoyed their work, although they occasionally
saw things that were very difficult to deal with, and which they
would rather not discuss.

‘Father of the mafia’

Salaries have grown, but remain very low by comparison with Western
countries.

Rostov-on-Don has a reputation in Russia as a violent and dangerous
place.

Indeed, it is sometimes referred to popularly as the "father of
the mafia".

Neither officer I accompanied had lost colleagues to violent attacks
in recent times.

However, they said stabbings and shootings were constant dangers they
had to be ready for.

They were armed with pistols and carried body armour in the vehicle.

Human rights groups in Russia and abroad often accuse the police of
brutality towards detainees – indeed, of the widespread use of torture.

The Russian government acknowledges there is a problem, but insists
it is the exception, rather than the rule.

I asked Division Commander Zaporozhtsev how he responded to such
accusations.

Brutality allegations

He suggested human rights activists should put themselves in the
position of the police and Russia’s prosecutors, who work in a country
with high rates of violent and organised crime.

He had a tough line on the death penalty. Russia has observed a
moratorium on executions for many years.

But a majority of politicians and ordinary people would like to see
the "highest measure of punishment", as it is known, remain on the
statute books.

Division Commander Zaporozhtsev said he felt strongly that "murderers
and terrorists" should face the death penalty.

I found ordinary people extremely reluctant to talk to me about
the police.

Most waved me away when I brought the subject up. However, there was
one exception.

An ethnic Armenian taxi driver was scathing. In Soviet times, he said,
the police saw their role as patriotic defenders of the motherland.

Now, he asserted, people join the police for the power it gives them
over ordinary people, especially when it comes to extracting bribes.