EVERYTHING POSSIBLE DONE OVER 100 DAYS BUT HEAD OF RA POLICE DOES NOT CONSIDER THIS WORK AS SATISFACTORY

Noyan Tapan

Se p 24, 2008

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 24, NOYAN TAPAN. In the words of the head of the
RA police Major General Alik Sargsyan, over the first 100 days of
his tenure, everything possible was done to protect public order
throughout Armenia, to wage an "active and uncompromising" fight
against crime and restore the prestige of the police among various
strata of society. "Along with the work done, there are still serious
shortcomings, there is much to be done," he said. He attributed
the rise in crimes (about 500 cases) in the indicated period to the
elimination of the vicious practice of not registering crimes.

"I do not consider our work as satisfactory because the index of
crimes committed in our country and their detection index are not
satisfactory," he noted.

According to A. Sargsyan, the police reforms, in particular, reforms in
traffic police and passport units, will have continuous character. "You
will soon see an efficient round-the-clock service in the capital
city and I think there will be a decline in some types of crime."

A. Sargsyan touched upon the problem of beggars: one can often see
"beggars" in busy streets of Yerevan who literally chase people
and demand money by using various methods. "We conducted checks and
revealed that not all of them need this money," the police head said,
adding that the creation of a reception and distribution station will
allow to keep homeless people in the state care and solve the problem
of their fates.

He underlined the importance of establishing operative control
throughout Yerevan with the use of cameras which will enable to record
violations of traffic rules and to search for those wanted by the
police. An attemp is also being made to optimize the personnel and
buildings of the police system, with this work to be completed by 2009.

A social council adjuct to the RA police with the involvement of
intellectuals will be set up in the coming days. They will have the
right to supervise police work and inform the mass media about it.