Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today chaired a consultative meeting on police reform. Addressing the meeting, Prime Minister Pashinyan said: “We have repeatedly said that the judicial-legal reform is among this year’s most important tasks, and the proposed police reform is crucial in this context. The formation of the Ministry of Interior is on our agenda for the near future. At the same time, we have already initiated and this year we should make tangible progress in terms of forming a patrol service in the Republic of Armenia. The process is underway, and today we must discuss what urgent steps need to be taken so that the program, which was regretfully deferred due to the war, is no longer postponed, and we implement the project this year.”

The Premier was briefed on the work done to set up the Patrol Service, including the results of admission and selection procedures. Detailed information was provided about the training process, which started with a slight delay, on January 18, 2021 due to the war, and will last some 5 months. The selected teaching staff took a training course a while ago. The Police Academy’s training program currently continues with classes in tactical training, firearms readiness, leadership and more. An internship course shall be organized for senior patrol service officers.

Details were provided about the provision of new uniforms and equipment in line with international standards, as well as the acquisition of new vehicles along with ensuring appropriate living conditions for the staff and the construction of an operational management center.

The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of a quick and effective implementation of the process and instructed those responsible to make consistent efforts in this direction. A preliminary model of the structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was discussed during the meeting.