To address the staffing problem in the Ministry of the Interior, the State Audit Office proposes to continue the pension reform for service years in the State Police, Minister of the Interior Rihards Kozlovskis promises to seek a "reasonable" direction on this issue, and the leadership of the State Police is to continue efforts to attract young employees.
The State Audit Office calls on the Cabinet of Ministers not to stop at the already initiated pension reform for service years, as the approved changes in the pension system will not solve the staffing problem in the State Police, said Gatis Litvins, a member of the State Audit Council, to journalists on Tuesday.
At the same time, he emphasized that a fair transition for those police officers who are already working is certainly necessary, and this issue cannot be resolved by "cutting pensions like with a knife."
Litvins highlighted several legislative issues that could help address the staffing problem in the State Police. For example, providing merchants who have to deal with thieves with broader opportunities in terms of data processing, including biometric data. Currently, these issues are largely restricted by data protection regulations, he noted. The head of the State Police, Armands Ruks, also pointed out this problem.
In addition, changes at the state level will be required, for example, some tasks that the police could refrain from performing.
According to the State Audit Office, voluntary assistants could play an important role, the effectiveness of which has been proven by the experience of neighboring countries. Currently, there are only 27 police assistants in Latvia, and the development and significance of this format are not adequately recognized, so pilot projects are necessary.
The Minister of the Interior informed journalists that last year, 73 more employees joined the police than retired. This, according to the minister, is the best result in history.
Commenting on the pension reform, Kozlovskis agreed with Litvins that the system cannot be sharply changed overnight.
Ruks, in turn, added that the staffing shortage issues in the State Police began during the economic crisis of 2008-2009, when jobs were eliminated. Since then, until last year, there has only been one instance where more people joined the police than left.
Ruks stated that the increase in the number of police officers last year was related to salary increases. He predicts that this trend will continue. At the same time, he acknowledged that salary is not the only factor that motivates police officers. The officers themselves cited workload and working conditions as important factors.
As reported, as a result of the audit, the State Audit Office concluded that the main reason for the staffing shortage in the State Police is no longer the level of wages, but rather issues with human resource management and task prioritization.
Leave a comment