Old Cop, New Cop
Old Cop, New Cop
An innovative plan is under way to introduce neighbourhood policemen in Kyrgyzstan. Law enforcement experts advise that making the scheme work will depend on whether everyone involved – including the general public – buys into the concept.
A pilot project is being set up in Bishkek’s Pervomaysky district to see whether neighbourhood policing works. An OSCE project in collaboration with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, its aim is to improve cooperation and communication between law officers and the public.
Experts on police reform say the main reason why the current police force is not effective is that local officers are overburdened with routine work, so that they end dealing more with the consequences than the causes of crime. That creates in people’s minds a distorted picture of a force that is not on top of the crime situation and is not in a position to help them.
One of the reform’s objectives is therefore to train up a new breed of policeman armed with different methods.
As the experts explained to NBCentralAsia, the main difference between the new “politseysky” and the old “militsioner” is their approach to the job – the latter tries to solve crimes that are brought to his attention when a member of the public gives a statement. By contrast, the neighbourhood policeman’s job is essentially to prevent crime through close contact with the community.
However, the experts say there is no guarantee the scheme will be a success. They argue that both the outcome and the time it takes to achieve it depend less on funding than on whether all the stakeholders in the process really accept the reform.
Law enforcement analysts say it is going to be quite difficult to break down the stereotype of a policeman as the embodiment of power and authority, an image that has been built up over many decades. The priority attached to catching one’s “quota” of criminals has led some policemen to believe they have a license to do whatever they want.
According to some reports, only 25 to 28 per cent of the population trust the police.
People in Kyrgystan are not quite ready to forge a new collaborative relationship with a reformed police force. The experts predict that the reform will take root only when civil society shows itself ready to engage with the police, and when it is prepared to involve non-government institutions and find the funding for crime prevention projects.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
A pilot project is being set up in Bishkek’s Pervomaysky district to see whether neighbourhood policing works. An OSCE project in collaboration with the Ministry of Internal Affairs, its aim is to improve cooperation and communication between law officers and the public.
Experts on police reform say the main reason why the current police force is not effective is that local officers are overburdened with routine work, so that they end dealing more with the consequences than the causes of crime. That creates in people’s minds a distorted picture of a force that is not on top of the crime situation and is not in a position to help them.
One of the reform’s objectives is therefore to train up a new breed of policeman armed with different methods.
As the experts explained to NBCentralAsia, the main difference between the new “politseysky” and the old “militsioner” is their approach to the job – the latter tries to solve crimes that are brought to his attention when a member of the public gives a statement. By contrast, the neighbourhood policeman’s job is essentially to prevent crime through close contact with the community.
However, the experts say there is no guarantee the scheme will be a success. They argue that both the outcome and the time it takes to achieve it depend less on funding than on whether all the stakeholders in the process really accept the reform.
Law enforcement analysts say it is going to be quite difficult to break down the stereotype of a policeman as the embodiment of power and authority, an image that has been built up over many decades. The priority attached to catching one’s “quota” of criminals has led some policemen to believe they have a license to do whatever they want.
According to some reports, only 25 to 28 per cent of the population trust the police.
People in Kyrgystan are not quite ready to forge a new collaborative relationship with a reformed police force. The experts predict that the reform will take root only when civil society shows itself ready to engage with the police, and when it is prepared to involve non-government institutions and find the funding for crime prevention projects.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
