Priority directions of ensuring transport security (based on the analysis of strategic planning documents)

Zajkova Svetlana Nikolaevna ORCID: 0000-0003-1205-501X PhD in Law Docent, the department of Administrative and Municipal Law, Saratov State Law Academy Volskaya St., 1, 410056 Saratov, Russian Federation snzaikova@rambler.ru Other publications by this author

Introduction

The works of Russian scientists on the prospects for the development of legislation on the security of the transport complex are devoted to its separate areas: improvement of the federal law on transport security in terms of the conceptual apparatus ^{[1, p. 32; 2, p. 26; 3, p. 150]}, legal consolidation of a risk-based approach in planning transport security measures ^{[4, p. 550]}, implementation of the methodology of system security management ^{[5, p. 154]}. Researchers from the CIS countries see the development of legal regulation in this area in terms of the organization of a safe transport process associated with the transportation of goods ^{[6, p. 45]}, ensuring the safety of ground equipment ^{[7, p. 36]} and the organization of traffic in areas of concentration of vehicles ^{[8, p. 47]}. Practitioners are concerned about excessive legal regulation of aviation security, which entails additional financial costs for business entities ^{[9, p.71]}.

The expediency of developing the topic is caused by the fact that there are no comprehensive studies that are predictive in nature and determine the main directions, goals and priorities of public administration and legislation in the field of transport security.

The scientific novelty of the research lies in the thematic and comprehensive analysis of all existing strategic planning documents adopted at the federal level and aimed at solving the tasks of ensuring the national security of the country.

The purpose of the study was an attempt to identify priority areas for the development of public administration and Russian legislation in the field of transport security on the basis of strategic planning mechanisms. Research objectives: to analyze for the period from the adoption of the law on transport security to the present (2008-2021) the annual messages of the President of Russia to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, documents related to the definition of socio-economic, scientific and technological development and security of the country, the main activities of the Government of the Russian Federation, sectoral strategic planning documents and program documents; to determine the interconnectedness of strategic and sectoral goals and priorities for ensuring transport security contained in various legal sources; to develop proposals to clarify the provisions of strategic and policy documents in the field of security and in the transport industry.

The theoretical significance of the study is determined by the developed theoretical provisions reflecting the features of goal-setting, planning and forecasting of transport security. The practical recommendations formulated by the author are to be applied in order to improve strategic planning and administrative legislation in the field under consideration.

Methodology:

The methodological basis of the study was made up of general scientific and special legal methods of cognition. The dialectical method is used to search for the relationship between the general and the special in the implementation of strategic planning in the field of transport security, to search for contradictions and trends in its development, to determine the complexity of approaches. The formal-logical method provided an opportunity to characterize modern approaches to determining the long-term development of public management activities in the transport industry from the position of their normative consolidation in strategic planning documents. Such methods as formal legal and comparative legal allowed us to analyze the provisions, goals and priorities of the development of public administration and Russian legislation on transport security contained in various legal sources, formulate proposals for the adjustment of planning documents.

Results:

Since the adoption of the federal law on Transport security ^[10] and the allocation of legal relations arising from the prevention of illegal interference in the activities of the transport complex as a separate object of state administration, it has become obvious that it is necessary to determine the directions, goals and priorities (goal-setting) of ensuring transport security as an integral part of the national security of the Russian Federation.

Based on the current legislation ^{[11, Article 11]}, strategic planning documents in the field of transport security can be divided into three groups: developed within the framework of goal setting, within the framework of forecasting, within the framework of planning and programming. The legislative arrangement of these groups in a clear sequence should ensure the development of primary strategic goals, their clarification and specification in the documents of the next group. However, some scientists question the correctness of the legally established sequence. Referring to the norms of the law on strategic planning, they consider forecasting as the primary stage regarding goal setting ^{[12, p. 4]}. If goal-setting was carried out before forecasting, then "the degree of its detail in this case will inevitably be insufficiently specific, and the defined goals will need to be significantly clarified based on the results of the completion of the forecasting stage" ^{[13, Article 76]}.

We can agree with this opinion, since the legislator provides for the development of a strategy for the socio-economic development of the country based on forecasts, including budget forecasts.

Forecasting is also very important for transport security as an area of public administration. In this case, we are talking about predicting potential threats. As history shows ^{[14, Article 94]}, important management decisions and adjustments to legislation in the field of transport security were carried out after the commission of acts of unlawful interference. The methods used to deliver explosive devices to the aircraft (transfer of booby-trapped baggage to passengers who were unaware of the true contents of the cargo; placement of explosives in shoes; use of explosive liquid) served as the basis for the development of new administrative and legal measures of coercion and strengthening of inspection measures. That is why forecasting is primary in ensuring the stable functioning of the transport complex, its uninterrupted and planned operation.

The first group of documents (goal-setting) consists of the annual message of the President of Russia to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, the strategy of national security, socio-economic and scientific and technological development.

Analysis of the messages of the President of Russia to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation for the period from the adoption of the law on transport security to the present (2008-2021) showed that the directions, goals and priorities of ensuring transport security are rarely determined. In 2009, the message ^[15] noted the priority of using space technologies, including GLONASS, to ensure the safety of transport, technically complex objects and to improve the coordination of rescue services. In pursuance of this direction, information support for transport security has been developed, and in 2010 the Ministry of Transport of Russia developed a corresponding unified state information system.

In other periods (2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016 G.G.) the issues of security of the transport complex were either not mentioned in the messages, or were touched upon indirectly as a necessary component of the development of the transport industry.

In 2012, regional aviation, seaports, the Northern Sea Route, the Trans-Siberian Railway and other transit corridors became the most important priority for the development of the transport industry ^[16]. For several years, the transport connectivity of the entire Russian territory has become a target for public administration in order to ensure economic development. And today, the development of an efficient transport infrastructure is one of the tasks necessary to achieve the goals of ensuring Russia's economic security ^[17]. As follows from the strategy of scientific and technological development of the country ^{[18, p. 20]}, in the next 15 years it is planned to create intelligent transport systems that ensure territorial accessibility of regions.

Subsequent messages of the President of the Russian Federation reflected the priorities of modernization of transport infrastructure, set tasks for the development of logistics centers (Murmansk and Azov-Black Sea transport hubs, modern ports in the Far East, the Baltic) ^[19], Eurasian transport arteries ^[20], airports and international airport complexes (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Khabarovsk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatka) ^[21], the functioning of which should be reliable and safe.

In the address of 2021, the President of the Russian Federation identified several areas of ensuring transport security ^[22].

The implementation of regional infrastructure projects aimed at the development of public transport and its renewal will require synchronization of the development of the road network and equipping with technical means for mandatory monitoring in real time, as well as the establishment and arrangement of control points for permanent raids within the framework of federal state control (supervision) in the field of transport security. Bringing the road network into compliance with regulatory requirements (at a level of at least 85% by 2030) is defined as one of the targets within the framework of the national goal "A comfortable and safe environment for life" ^[23].

Ensuring the safety of school buses is highlighted as a separate priority. This priority is reflected in the list of instructions of the President of the Russian Federation ^[24] and is implemented in accordance with the methodological recommendations developed by the Ministry of Education of Russia ^[25]. The safety of using school buses is ensured by carrying out mandatory measures, for example, a survey of the condition of road transport infrastructure (especially the condition of highways in the spring and autumn period) and transport infrastructure facilities.

Another promising area of ensuring transport security is the safe high-speed movement of vehicles along the Moscow – Nizhny Novgorod- Kazan highway (it is planned to extend it to Yekaterinburg), the completion of which is scheduled for 2024.

Among the strategic planning documents developed within the framework of goal-setting in the field of transport security is the national security strategy ^[17], which defines the objectives of state policy in the area under consideration.

One of the tasks of ensuring state and public security is to increase the level of anti-terrorist protection of places of mass stay of people, including transport infrastructure facilities. It should be noted that a task similar in content is reflected in the strategy of economic security ^{[26, paragraph 22]}, in the strategy of spatial development of the country ^{[27, section VI]} and in the fundamentals of state border policy ^{[28, paragraph 21]}. Detailed specification of this task is provided in other documents. So, in the concept of public safety ^{[29, item 5 sec. I]} indicates the need to improve public administration in the field of transport security, and in the strategy for the development of the information society ^{[30, paragraph 42]} – to ensure the lawful use of information (for example, personal data) received from transport infrastructure entities.

Based on the above, the strategic goal of public management activities in the field of transport security for the long term (until 2030) is proposed to be formulated as follows: increasing the level of protection of transport infrastructure facilities and vehicles from acts of unlawful interference. The priority tasks include: the introduction and use of space and information technologies, the creation of intelligent transport systems, the development of transport infrastructure, the renewal of vehicles, the improvement of forms and methods of public administration in this area.

The need for the above-mentioned author's proposal arose due to the fact that the strategic goal of public administration in the field of transport security is not established in the strategic planning documents. As follows from the Transport Strategy of Russia until 2030, the strategic goal of the development of the transport industry is "meeting the demand of the economy and society for competitive and high-quality transport services" ^[31]. The strategy defines four long-term goals: increasing spatial connectivity and transport accessibility of territories; increasing the mobility of the population and the development of domestic tourism, increasing the volume and speed of cargo delivery, including transit, and the development of multimodal logistics technologies; digital and low-carbon transformation of the industry and accelerated introduction of new technologies.

The security of the transport complex is not singled out as a separate goal of the development of the transport system, and transport security is attributed to the tasks (task 18), the solution of which is planned to be carried out by improving control and supervisory activities.

Such a situation in the absence of a transport security strategy and the dispersion of targets in various legal sources do not allow us to define a single strategic goal of public management activities in the field of transport security for the period up to 2030, in fact, reducing it to the implementation of federal state control (supervision).

In the second group of strategic planning documents devoted to forecasting, it is necessary to note the strategic forecast of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2035 ^[32] and the long-term forecast of scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation up to 2030 ^[33].

Secretary of the Russian Security Council N.P. Patrushev stressed that "among the key priorities of our country in the field of security is the further strengthening of the uncompromising fight against the global terrorist threat not only inside Russia and along the perimeter of its borders, but also on distant frontiers" ^[34].

Such a struggle is impossible without the development of transport technologies, therefore, in the long-term forecast of the scientific and technological development of the country until 2030, the following developments are proposed: in transport aviation systems - the development of intelligent control methods; in automotive transport systems - the development of control automation elements, including for intelligent automatic unmanned vehicles; in the entire transport industry - development of national telecommunication and navigation systems.

The forecast of socio-economic development of the Russian Federation for 2022 provides for investments in the development of the transport complex as part of the implementation of the state program "Development of the Transport System", a comprehensive plan for the modernization and expansion of the trunk infrastructure and the national project "Safe High-quality Roads", as well as the implementation of major infrastructure projects with the participation of the National Welfare Fund ^[35].

The third group of documents related to planning and programming consists of the main activities of the Government of Russia, state programs and plans for the activities of federal executive authorities. In the field of transport security, all of them have a medium-term period.

As follows from the Main Activities of the Government of the Russian Federation for the period up to 2024 ^[36], in the field of transport security, it is planned to implement a state program for the development of the transport system ^[37], which contains a list of measures aimed at improving the stability of the transport system and its integrated security. Among the target indicators for the implementation of security measures, there are such indicators as:

increasing the level of protection of federal road infrastructure facilities: involving transport security units to protect 2893 facilities from acts of unlawful interference by 2024; with the performance of maintenance work on installed technical means of ensuring transport security at 2893 facilities by 2024,

ensuring the safety of navigation and the development of sea transport routes through the commissioning of 18 units of vessels of the supporting fleet by 2024.

Other target indicators were established by the Comprehensive Program for Ensuring Public Safety in Transport ^[38]. Among them, an increase in the number of protected transport infrastructure facilities and vehicles; an increase in the level of awareness and satisfaction of the population with the measures taken, professional training in the field of transport security, the quality of control and supervision in the area under consideration. It should be noted that these indicators were set for the period up to 2013 and currently the status of the integrated program is not fully understood. The program, which has funding in 2022 from the federal budget (658.04 million rubles) and regional budgets (624.7 million rubles), does not contain indicators and indicators to assess the effectiveness of its implementation in 2022.

In contrast to the above-mentioned measures and indicators of their implementation, the Activity Plan of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation for 2019 - 2024 ^[39] provides for other types of activities and indicators of their assessment in the field of transport security, which are presented in three blocks:

the block of measures "Ensuring public safety in transport" includes increasing the level of protection of airports from acts of unlawful interference in 2022 to 66.9%, subways – up to 84%, railway infrastructure - only up to 42.8% (of the total);

the block of measures "Development of an integrated transport security control system" provides for activities related to equipping the supervisory authority with technical means, vessels and mobile control points;

the block of measures "Improving the level of information security of the population in transport with provision for up to 30,000 subjects of transport activity" is aimed at planned connection to a single protected closed information space in the field of ensuring the security of subjects of transport activity (in 2022 - 7000 units, by 2024 - 30,000 units).

Based on the above, it can be concluded that the documents related to planning and programming in the field of transport security have not only been adopted for the medium term (until 2024), but also define planned measures, indicators of their implementation and efficiency assessments in different ways.

Conclusion

The analysis of the annual messages of the President of the Russian Federation to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, strategic documents related to the definition of socio-economic, scientific and technological development and security of the country, the main activities of the Government of the Russian Federation, the plans of the Ministry of Transport of Russia, program documents for the period from the adoption of the law on transport security to the present (2008-2021) showed partial the interconnectedness of strategic and sectoral goals (priorities) of ensuring transport security contained in various legal sources.

It can be assumed that the priority direction of the development of public administration and Russian legislation in the field of transport security until 2024 is to increase the level of anti-terrorist protection of transport infrastructure facilities and vehicles through the introduction and use of space and information technologies, as well as through the introduction of intelligent transport systems that ensure the transport connectivity of the country. The development of intelligent control methods for aviation systems and automation of control for intelligent automatic unmanned vehicles is predicted due to investment investments, including within the framework of the implementation of state programs and national projects.

The tasks, activities and indicators of their implementation contained in various strategic planning documents require additional coordination. The lack of interconnectedness of the directions of state-management activities will not allow concentrating human, time, material and other resources to achieve strategic goals. To solve this problem, it seems necessary:

development of the transport security strategy of the Russian Federation, which establishes a systematic approach to the organization and planning of a set of measures to ensure transport security, coordinated interaction of executive authorities and other participants in legal relations;

adjustment of the Comprehensive Program for Ensuring Public Safety in Transport with the establishment of new and relevant indicators for achieving the set goals and priorities;

adjustment of the action plan for the implementation of strategic planning documents until 2024, approved by the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation, in order to take into account measures to monitor transport safety.

It also seems relevant, based on the analysis carried out, to start developing strategic planning documents in the field of transport security for a long-term period, which will allow developing systematic measures to strengthen the mechanism of administrative and legal regulation of transport security and prevention of illegal actions that threaten the safe operation of the transport complex.

The main direction of further research could be the study of the state of monitoring and control in the strategic planning mechanism, which allows assessing the correspondence between the set goals and actual results in the field of transport security.