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At the joint session of the Public Order Committee of the Seimas and the Committee for Defense and National Security, the changes of the Lithuanian police in 2020-2025 were presented. The Commissioner General of the Police, R. Pož quela, emphasized that it would be more accurate to state that the reform coincides with his mandate until 2024.
According to R. Požėla, the changes in the police were planned under the government of Saulius Skvernelis, the first stage of the reforms actually carried over to the current cabinet. According to the Commissioner General, an ambitious goal has been set to complete the changes by 2023.
“This police leadership sees the need for certain organizational and structural changes that allow us to use state funds more efficiently and at the same time streamline our activities,” said R. Požėla.
According to R. Požėla, the optimism that the changes will be implemented comes from government programs, whether past or present.
“I would like to set the tone for future police chiefs, before planning changes, before planning their implementation, it is necessary to ensure the greatest possible political support,” said R. Požėla at the joint meeting of the two Seimas committees.
The current system is outdated
According to the Commissioner General, a vision has been established of what the police will look like when all the planned changes are implemented. According to R. Požėla, the police should be a well-organized organization, based on the best examples, more attractive to those who want to serve in the police.
Reviewing the current police system, Požėla said that it is currently clumsy. This system was formed after the 2008 police reform.
“At that time, of course, this structure was very modern, very modern, from a 2008 perspective. There has been a change from 80 legal entities to the 16 legal entities that we have now. But, logically, we must take the following steps. Today, I see an opportunity to organize work differently and the 16 legal entities <...> it is really our organizational clothes from yesterday, ”said R. Požėla.
There will be 5 district police
The current police structure consists of ten county police stations, five specialized agencies operating on a non-territorial basis, such as the traffic police or criminal police office, and the Police College.
R. Požėla stated that in the next few years the goal is for the police to become a unified organization and a legal entity of 16 different institutions and legal entities.
“We would like to go from the beginning of 10 counties to 5 counties. This would coincide with the current operating model of the Prosecutor’s Office and the Courts, it would simply coincide with our areas of action and would avoid certain disagreements, when the county chief often has to dialogue and coordinate with the heads of two district attorney’s offices. , courts or vice versa, ”Požėla said.
The Commissioner emphasized that the police would be organized in three levels: the Police Department at the top, the counties at the top, and the Police Stations at the bottom.
It is planned to create the police districts of Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Panevėžys and Šiauliai. According to R. Požėla, the biggest challenge would be for the newly created Kaunas district, which would unite the main Kaunas police commissioners, Marijampolė and Alytus. The transformation of the districts is scheduled to be completed in 2023. March.
During the police reform, it is planned to centralize the functions of specialized police institutions, as well as to centralize administrative activities such as accounting, asset management or public procurement. This stage has already begun, according to R. Požėla, this change should take place in October this year.
“The main challenge in the implementation of this stage is social sensitivity. We work with each person to listen to you, to listen to your expectations. Perhaps there are situations in which we need to transfer a person to another position, because the centralization of certain functions creates the need for a more flexible view of the functions of these people. But the key message is <...> at this stage, none of our employees will be laid off, ”said R. Požėla.
According to R. Požėla, after the transformation, modern realities, such as cybercrime, will be given higher priority. The commissioner general assured that he will address the Government and try to obtain permission from Ingrida Šimonytė’s cabinet to carry out the police transformation.
“What are the benefits of change for society? <...> With higher quality and quantity, we would be willing to come to the aid of a person who requires our services. Today, unfortunately, we have another situation. A Šilalė resident, in case of trouble, would be assisted by the Tauragė LSC capacity at best, there are 300 officers there. In case of a change and a similar problem, the same Šilalė resident would be assisted by the Klaipėda regional officials with 1.5 thousand. officials, ”said R. Požėla.
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