On the Question of the Expediency of Creating a Unified Patrol Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia

Koynov Maxim Yurevich Senior Lecturer at the Department of Public Order Protection of Tyumen Institute for Internal Affairs Officers Professional Training 625049, Russia, Tyumen region, Tyumen, Amurskaya str., 75 koynovmax@mail.ru Other publications by this author

IntroductionThe need to ensure security is the basis of the vital activity of any community, because without proper protection of their rights and interests, stable development of the state cannot take place.

Particular attention is paid to ensuring law and order in the Russian Federation, so at an expanded meeting of the Board of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in 2022, Head of State V. Putin noted: "Work in hot pursuit is extremely important for solving [crimes], and for the effective work of the law enforcement system as a whole" ^[1]. At the same time, the main burden of solving crimes in hot pursuit falls on mobile squads (patrols) capable of responding promptly to emerging threats to law and order. Therefore, the provision of public safety in general depends on how timely the detachments located on patrol routes will be able to respond to offenses.

The author of the study sets the task to consider the system of ensuring public safety from the side of the effectiveness of the use of patrol units serving on the streets and other public places. Identification of problematic issues of the functioning of the public order protection system in the process of carrying out the activities of the combatant units of the patrol and guard service of the police, the road patrol service of the police, as well as the non-departmental security of Rosgvadia. Based on the results of the study, the author suggests ways to solve the problems of law enforcement activity under consideration.

The main partAlready at the early stages of the emergence of statehood, representatives of the authorities were present, whose powers included monitoring compliance with established procedures.

The gradual development and complication of the state system required the development of structures that ensure the implementation of rules and laws adopted in society.

At the same time, it should be noted that regardless of the developing state structures, the main burden on ensuring public safety and protecting public order was assigned to specialized services (units) carrying out their activities in the form of patrolling the serviced territory. So, in the UK, such a service is represented by a unit of "Constables of the territorial police", in France such functions are assigned to the "National Gendarmerie", in the USA they are divided between "Federal Marshals" and "State Police", in Germany they are assigned to the law enforcement police (Schutzpolizei).

 The need to use such units is not in doubt, but there are different approaches to its functionality, structural composition, and outfit controls. Thus, in the Federal Republic of Germany, the entire completeness of law enforcement on the streets is carried out by a single service – Schutzpolizei (socr. SchuPo) is a police unit whose activities are carried out by patrolling, receiving statements from the public, monitoring roads, monitoring road safety, ensuring safety during public events ^{[2, p.17]}.

 Another way of ensuring public security was adopted in the Republic of France: until 2002, these powers were distributed among several services of the National Police and the Gendarmerie of Communes. High crime rate, primarily associated with mass emigration, including from North African countries in the middle of the XX century from the former colonies of the French Republic: Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and a number of other countries caused public concern. The current situation required new approaches to law enforcement. In this connection, the President of France presented projects for the unification of the police and gendarmerie within one structure and the elimination of dualism of the entire police system. The natural result of such processes was the adoption of The Decree of May 15, 2002, according to which the gendarmerie of communes came under Federal control, and, in accordance with the Law of August 3, 2009 "On the National Gendarmerie", its units merged with the National Police ^[3].

The Russian Federation has its own system of ensuring public safety and protecting public order on the streets and other public places – its basis is the activity of the combatant units of the patrol and patrol service of the police and the road patrol service of the police. At the same time, units of district commissioners, as well as combatant units of non-departmental security of the National Guard Troops of the Russian Federation, partially have such functions. This structure is due to the legacy of the law enforcement system of the Soviet period, when separate services were separated from the general system of law enforcement agencies of the "Public Security Militia" at various periods. September 2, 1923 is considered to be the day of the formation of the patrol and post service, since on this day the order of the Central Administrative Department of the NKVD of the RSFSR No. 4 approved the "Instruction to the post policeman", which regulated the duties and rights of the post policemen ^{[4, p. 23]}. In 1936, the State Traffic Inspectorate appeared, approved by resolution No. 1182 "Regulations on the State Automobile inspections of the Main Directorate of the Workers' and Peasants' Militia of the NKVD of the USSR". At the same time, a traffic control unit (ORUD) was formed in the staff of the new service, later a division of the police road patrol service appeared on its basis. Similarly, guard detachments were separated from the police departments in the service area, which in 1966 were transformed into Non-departmental security units under the police, the legal status of which was fixed by the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR dated 02/18/1966 No. 129 "On approval of the Model Regulations on non-departmental security under the police" ^{[5, p.131]}. The adoption in 1974 of the Charter of the patrol and post service of the Soviet militia, approved by Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR No. 200^[6], served as a necessary impetus in the development of public order protection by forming separate combatant units of the patrol and post service of the police.

The separation of units carrying patrol duty allowed to specialize the activities of combatant units, which had a positive effect during the development of the law enforcement system. This made it possible to concentrate the available forces and means of law and order on the most significant areas of ensuring public safety. So, for the "State Automobile Inspection", the priority direction is traffic safety, and for the units of "Private security" – the protection of property of citizens and the state, for the patrol service - law enforcement in public places.

At the same time, it should be noted that there is a discrepancy in the legal foundations of the activities of the units: each service is guided by its own Instruction. So, the patrol and post service of the police is guided by the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated June 28, 2021 No. 495 "On approval of the Instruction on the organization of the activities of the patrol and post service units of the police of the territorial bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia" ^[7] (hereinafter referred to as the Instruction of the Police), and the traffic police service is guided by the Order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia dated December 3, 2021 G. No. 840dsp "Instruction on the organization of the activities of the traffic police of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation" ^[8] (hereinafter – the Instruction of the traffic Police). In the process of repealing the old and adopting new legal acts regulating the activities of units that ensure the protection of public order, there was also a divergence of powers, as well as tactical grounds for service. So, if in the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia No. 17 of 1993 (the Charter of the CPSM) in paragraph 148 there was a procedural norm "External inspection", then in the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia of 2008 No. 80 (the Charter of the CPSP) in paragraph 266 this norm is called "External inspection", while already the order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia of 2021 year No. 495 Instruction PPSP, this procedural norm is missing and replaced by the provision of paragraph 170 "precautions during delivery". In turn, according to the Instruction of the traffic Police, the above terminology is missing initially, which, in turn, leads to legal contradictions in the implementation of procedural activities in different departments.

It is worth noting that during the delimitation of powers, there was a duplication of the function of ensuring law and order among individual combatant units and the complication of operational management of the outfits serving in the service area. The system of operational management of patrol squads, divided between the duty units of territorial bodies and the duty units of combatant units, has been aggravated by the urbanization of territories and the ever-increasing population density. At the same time, the emergence of new elements of operational management of outfits, in connection with the introduction of information technologies and attempts to find a balance in the interaction of services that ensure public safety, leads to certain difficulties.

So, when implementing the hardware and software complex "Safe City" (hereinafter referred to as the APK "Safe City"), there was a difficulty in establishing priority when sending information from services with the authority of operational management of patrol units. Using the example of the Tyumen Region, in 2011, police patrol squads were simultaneously under the operational subordination of the duty unit of the "Safe City" on the basis of the duty unit of the city of Tyumen, as well as the duty units of police departments by territoriality (hereinafter referred to as the D/H OP), depending on the administrative district, and groups of management units of combatant units (hereinafter referred to as – GUN), patrol and post service of the police (hereinafter referred to as PPSP) or the road patrol service of the police (hereinafter referred to as DPS), while patrol squads of the Non-Departmental Security of the Troops of the National Guard of Russia (hereinafter referred to as OVO VNG) are simultaneously under the operational subordination of both the duty units of police departments and the duty units of centralized control panels security guards (hereinafter referred to as PCO VNG) and duty units of the VNG of Russia. Such diversity in the system of subordination of the units carrying patrol duty to different duty units significantly reduces the prompt response to incoming information.

It should be noted that the disunity in the management system of the patrol units is manifested not only in operational activities, but also in technical ones. Thus, different communication channels are used to manage the outfits of different combatant units (PPSP, DPS, PSB VNG) located on patrol routes, and the level of access of these units to integrated databases also differs.

For example, let's consider the situation: a citizen Ivanova addressed the police patrol officers serving in the area of the city N, who explained that about 15 minutes ago, young people took her phone away from her. According to the algorithm of actions for the PPSP orders for the disclosure of crimes, the citizen received information about the time, place and signs of suspects in the crime and transferred to the D / H OP (via radio), and then to the GUN of the combatant unit. It takes 5-10 minutes for these events, after which the outfit started hot pursuit, D/ H OP needs time to process information and transfer it to other outfits, first the information is broadcast to the communication channel of the PSP, then to the DPS communication channel, and only then it is transmitted to the PSC VNG to inform the PSB VNG, in In turn, the VNG PCO broadcasts information through its communication channels. It follows from this that there is multiple duplication of the transmitted information through different communication channels, subject to the necessary processing before transmitting the information and the time for broadcasting is about 2-4 minutes, we get that the outfits informed by the latter receive it with a delay of 8-16 minutes. This time is quite enough for the likely criminals to escape.

It should be noted that the leadership of combatant units is taking measures to eliminate the above shortcomings, in particular, equipping vehicles with several radio stations simultaneously operating on different communication channels, and additional staff units are being introduced in the D/ H OP and GUN of combatant units, allowing simultaneous broadcasting of information on different communication channels. So, during the period from 2010 to 2016, in the duty station of the agro-industrial complex "Safe City" in the city of Tyumen, in addition to the regular duty officer, there were representatives of the combatant units of the CPSP, traffic police, PSB. At the same time, it is worth noting that the representatives of the PSB were stationed in the same place where they were during the stay of this combat unit in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia before being reorganized in the VNG of Russia.

These decisions have brought some benefits, but they should be recognized as temporary.

Firstly, they do not solve the problems of disunity in the management of patrol squads, but only smooth out individual sides (informing through different communication channels, interaction between services, etc.).

Secondly, they require additional expenditure of forces and means, the introduction of additional standard units in the D / H OP and GUN of combatant units, the installation of several radio stations, both on the vehicles of combatant units and in the D / H OP and GUN, which is an overspending of available forces and means, and sometimes the misuse of them.

Thirdly, they do not eliminate the problems of duplication of powers of the outfit management system and priorities for the execution of assigned tasks.

 For example, the patrol along the traffic police simultaneously received information through different channels from the traffic police Department about a traffic accident (hereinafter referred to as an accident) at the nearest transport interchange, and information from the D/H OP of the territorial authority about a robbery committed in the opposite direction from the accident site. During the time spent by the patrol unit to establish the priority of tasks, which will depend on many factors (the severity of the crime, the ability of other units to respond, the distance to the places of incidents, the presence of victims in an accident, etc.), the responsiveness to the call will be lost.

All the identified problems must be solved by comprehensively covering the scope of reorganization of law enforcement activities in public places.

The solution of these problems is possible by combining the combatant units involved in the protection of public order into one combatant unit, the "Unified Patrol Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia", as well as by centralizing the patrol squad management system through delegating all powers to a single decision-making center. In our understanding, the creation of such a center on the basis of the agro-industrial complex "Safe City" is ideal.

At the same time, it should be taken into account that at present the unification of combatant units carrying out patrol activities to ensure law and order will require a global review of the entire component of the organization of public order protection and public safety.

In order to clarify the essence of the patrol service, the most complete concept, according to the author of the study, is given by the Russian scientist B.F. Shchvetsov.: "Patrol and post service in the internal affairs bodies is usually understood in two meanings: as a system of apparatuses and divisions that are specially created to maintain public order and ensure public safety on the streets and in other public places of cities and other settlements, and as a type of activity to ensure public order and public safety" ^[9].

It should be noted that the expediency of such transformations is reflected in the scientific works of other scientists. Thus, V.V. Golovko and M.V. Sergeev conducted a sociological study on this issue as part of their work. According to the data obtained, 39% of respondents positively assessed the possible results of combining the forces and means of the district police officers, the road patrol service, the patrol guard service and non-departmental security into one unit, 79% of whom noted that this would contribute to better interaction; 32% of respondents rated the results of a possible association negatively, the largest percentage of negative responses (63%) were given by a survey of employees of the road patrol service (for example, PPS - 45%, PSB – 26%) ^{[10, p.38]}.

E.A. Fedyaev justifies the need for the unification of the patrol and patrol service and the road patrol service in his works, he analyzes experiments on the unification of outdoor police outfits serving in St. Petersburg, conducted in 2010-2012, showing a positive trend in the detection of crimes in hot pursuit by combined police outfits ^{[11, p.142]}. At the same time, it should be noted that in his works E.A.Fedyaev bypasses the principles of the joint service, considering only its structural structure, which in the opinion of the author of the study does not allow to reveal the essence of the proposed transformations.

 The activity of the "Unified Patrol Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia" should be based on the principle of universality of patrol units serving in the serviced territory. In this context, it is necessary to reveal what the principle of universality as a whole is. In the scientific community, according to Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary, the following definition of universality is accepted: "versatile, covering many things, suitable for many things, with various functions" ^[12]. Therefore, the principle of universality of patrol activity is the ability to perform assigned tasks based on the versatility and high competence of the patrol outfit.

The uniform of the unified patrol service should be a mobile mobile group designed to protect public order and ensure public safety in the serviced territory. With the ability to promptly respond to reports and statements about crimes and other offenses, to take urgent measures to detain persons who committed crimes in hot pursuit. The main component of the use of forces and means in the unified patrol service should be formed on the principle of mobility and serve on a universal vehicle (autopatrol of the Unified Patrol Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia), as the most effective type of patrol.

The personnel of the unified patrol service should be formed on the principle of a competency-based approach to the selection of employees and the possibility of retraining and advanced training of existing employees of the combatant units of the patrol and patrol service of the police and the road patrol service of the police. Retraining and advanced training must strictly comply with the requirements for the quality of training of police officers, which requires the most effective level of training that can be achieved using the "SQUARE" training ground in the training process. The elements of the use and the technique of training police patrol officers are disclosed in the work of M.Yu. Koinov ^{[13, p.8]}.

ConclusionSumming up a certain result of the study, it is possible to highlight the following provisions:

Firstly, the patrol service is characterized as a complex organizational, legal, tactical phenomenon, which is a combination of tactical elements (management of outfits, patrol service, organization of interaction between outfits, provision of the technical component of service, etc.), an integral part of legal, organizational, tactical and other measures to ensure the fundamental rights and freedoms of citizens in the field of law enforcement, the main task of which is to ensure public order and public safety in the service area by patrol squads.

Secondly, the system of universality of the activities of combatant police units is a general trend observed in the modern world. The changes taking place in modern society define new features of organizational activity, among which the principle of universality is an important characteristic. The universality of organizational activity, as its qualitative certainty, was declared at the World Conference on Personnel Management and Higher Education, held by UNESCO in 2009. The ability to perform more functions simultaneously with a single outfit allows you to significantly optimize any type of activity, including such an activity as patrol duty.

A balanced approach to the universality of the patrol service will both reduce the costs of its maintenance and increase the level of professionalism of personnel in the new Unified Patrol Service.

Thirdly, the definition of a single competence (authority)  patrol squads will allow you to establish the basic requirements expected for a potential patrol officer, to determine a unified procedure for training and training of employees of a Unified patrol Service. In addition, it will eliminate the problem of duplication or lack of authority when serving patrol squads. It will allow the formation of qualified employees without the dispersion of forces and funds for the training of various categories of police officers.

Fourth, restoring order in the squad management system and bringing them to a unified system subordinating patrol squads only to the duty units of the territorial bodies of the Internal Affairs of Russia, basing their activities on the principle of centralization of management. The basis of the system should be the agro-industrial complex "Safe City", (the exclusion of the GUN from the squad management system and the assignment of only security functions to them), which will create a single vertical of squad management of the Unified Patrol Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia.

Fifthly, the unification of combatant units carrying patrol duty will allow to release patrol squads from performing functions that are not typical of them or to eliminate duplication of functions in the performance of their official duties.

Sixth, the creation of a unified material and technical base and centralization of funding will reduce the cost of providing patrol service and will lead to the possibility of additional improvement of the technical organization of the patrol service.

Seventh, the transformation of combatant units should lead to the improvement of legislation by universalizing and systematizing the norms of law governing the activities of the police to protect public order.

Eighth, the further improvement of the patrol service is directly dependent on legal, logistical, information and other support, competent selection of patrol service personnel, the creation of a centralized management system of patrol squads, which, in turn, should lead to an increase in the effectiveness of law enforcement and increase the authority of the patrol service.

It should be noted that the proposed initiatives should be carried out consistently and gradually. It is advisable to work out the possibility of such changes on pilot projects implemented in small settlements with certain characteristics. Such as the population in the range of 50-100 thousand people, the presence of socially significant facilities, a developed transport infrastructure and a management system for the police patrol and patrol service of the police and the road patrol service of the police.

The introduction of a system of unified centralized management of patrol units, as well as the ability of patrol units control centers to make independent decisions on the maneuver of forces and means of the "Unified Patrol Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia", will allow in practice to identify the necessary solutions to improve the system of public safety on the street and other public places.

The proposed transformations will eliminate duplication of the presence of detachments on the same route at the same time, increase the density of the use of patrols in the service area, eliminate cases of refusals to help due to lack of appropriate competence, increase the level of public confidence in the police; create organizational prerequisites for improving legislation by universalizing and systematizing the norms of law governing the activities of the police for the protection of public order.

Such a solution will be able to bring the management system of police patrol squads to a high level of mobility, which corresponds to modern trends in the development of the law enforcement system in the world.