Police Day – 1st November
November 1st is Police Day!
Police Day is another one of those peculiar “unofficial”, “professional” holidays that seem to abound here in Kyrgyzstan, it marks the creation of the Kyrgyz Police Force, some 86 years ago, although the Criminal Detection service was apparently established six years earlier! .
In fact, there seems to be several “Police Days” … presumably because there are several different branches of the police and they each seem to celebrate their own particular anniversary. If sometimes it seems as if a lot of police here in Kyrgyzstan, its interesting to note that apparently fewer police here per head of population than in other former Soviet states, but there do seem to be an awful lot of different departments and different forces.
The situation is a complex one. Over the years the Ministry of the interior and the police forces have been reorganized several times, been tasked with numerous duties and responsibilities – which sometimes go well beyond just dealing with crime and maintaining public order.
The first such reorganization came about as a result of the Revolution in 1917, when the Royal Police Force was abolished and in its place the revolutionary authorities established a variety of different People’s Militia, or specialist police forces with an aim of preventing the theft of state property, and preserving law and order: transport police, a river police, industrial police and so on, as well as small Criminal Investigation Departments in the main cities.
From the earliest days, the quality of the personnel working in the police forces has been an important issue. Most of the people who filled the general rank and file of the people’s militias after the 1917 revolution were low grade, illiterate and inefficient. There were complaints that they used their positions to further their own ends and abused their powers, (something which many people still see as a problem today). The situation was made more complex with the rise of anti-Bolshevik feeling, anti-revolutionary activity and the rise of gangs. To try and combat this problem, a special Police Training School was opened in Pishpek, (as Bishkek was then called), in 1925. After several reorganizations, the school still operates and is now registered as one of the country’s Higher Educational Institutes.
Here are just some of the highlights of the 86 year history of the Kyrgyz police force:
- Forensic and fingerprinting services were established as part of the Criminal Investigation Department as early as in 1919.
- Passport Registration was introduced in 1932 and the job of maintaining the necessary registers given to the police, leading to the establishment of special units. It is said that in the cities they carried out extensive work on background checks and keeping track of citizens, and helping to identify criminals..
- In 1936 the State Automobile Inspectorate, (The GAI or Traffic Police) was established.
- In 1996 a special unit for combating “Organized Crime” was created and the following year, Kyrgyzstan joined the International Police Organization – Interpol.
- In 2003, Kyrgyzstan signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe, (OSCE), and there have been several programmes to help develop a better and more efficient police force.
- Police from Kyrgyzstan have also undertaken training abroad, (in the UK, USA and Russia, for example), and Kyrgyz personnel have also served in UN Peace Keeping missions in Sierra Leone, the Balkans, Liberia and Sudan.
Unfortunately, there have also been moments in their history which have been less than positive. During the years of the “Great Repression” many police found the work too much and tried to resign, “on grounds of illness”. More recently, (for example – in the Aksu incident in 2002), their role in dealing with with public order have brought them under the public spotlight and criticism as a “punitive military force” of the state.
Last week the “uchiskovik“, the local “beat officer”, appeared at my office with the now traditional letter asking for “sponsorship” in order that they could reward (stimulate) the best staff, support pensioners and veterans and to help improve the “material technical base” of the force.
Now, why would I want to even consider sponsorship like this? I have a little problem with this particular form of “sponsorship”. It seems to me that some of these aims, (such as providing rewards for good service and funds for the equipping the force), are really the responsibility of the state – that’s the reason why we pay our taxes.
On the other hand, providing donations for the support for pensioners and veterans is much more of a “grey area” and I am more sympathetic. Of course, this should be the responsibility of the pension fund – or in Kyrgyzstan the Social Fund – however, it seems to me that there is also a role for “charity” in the form of a “benevolent fund”.
When I was a teacher, for example, we had a Benevolent Fund which raised money which could then be used to help alleviate hardship amongst members of the profession, or former teachers, who had, for some reason or other, fallen on hard times. The amounts given in grants were small but often vital in helping people in particularly difficult circumstances – such as the widow who found she needed emergency medical treatment. In theory there were the social services and everyone should plan so that they could meet unexpected circumstances that might arise – but life has a habit of “throwing a spanner in the works” and everyone needs help from time to time.
The benevolent fund had a number of ways of raising funds. In addition to donations and subscriptions there were a variety of fund raising activities, social events and so forth. The Benevolent Fund that I supported had its own credit card and the credit card company that operated the scheme gave part of its transaction fees to the fund.
Back in the UK we used to have jokes about being asked to buy tickets for the “Policeman’s Ball”. The idea was that a benevolent society would organize a social event as a fund raiser – people would enjoy themselves but also be making a contribution to the coffers of the benevolent fund in order to help those who had served the community.
Although I was never actually asked to buy a ticket, (and I don’t know anyone else who was asked to do so, either), this idea of the “Policeman’s Ball” was almost a institution. So much so that Amnesty International organized a series of benefit shows called “The Secret Policeman’s Ball” from 1976 until 2008 as fund raising events. These started out as “Comedy galas” featuring well known known comedians of stage and screen – later expanding to include musicians and they were the forerunners of much more prestigious events such as Live Aid.
Whilst I don’t think I will ever get used to the idea of these unofficial, professional holidays, I do understand that it is important to recognize and support certain groups of workers who perform important roles in society, often with extremely low salaries. The police, like most public servants here in Kyrgyzstan, are not particularly well paid, (although, to be fair, there have been steps taken to increase salaries in recent years).
After all, we do need the police force. Human nature being what it is, a police force is essential even in a Utopia. We need for them to carry out their job efficiently and effectively, “To Protect and to Serve”, fairly and without favour.
Whenever I see the uchiskovik, he is always very polite and enquires about my health, about business, and if we have any problems that he can help with. Fortunately, most of the time, I am able to say that everything is fine. All the same, he checks if I have his number, and urges me to feel free to call him anytime, if and when I have a problem. Usually, I respond by saying something like, “I hope I never have to.”
The police are one of those groups of people that I hope I never need to see in their professional capacity – like doctors, dentists, lawyers and fireman. If I do have call upon them for “professional reasons”, it means there is a problem – like in March last year, when we had an attempted robbery in our office. I was really impressed with the way that the police responded on that occasion – although, of course, it would have been so much better if it hadn’t been necessary.
So, in the end, I decided to make a donation. To be frank, however, I wish they had a proper Benevolent Fund.
Bishkek