Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today participated in the solemn session of the collegium dedicated to the 108th anniversary of the Police at the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Before the session, Nikol Pashinyan and Minister of Internal Affairs Arpine Sargsyan laid flowers at the memorial plaque installed in the courtyard of the Police building and paid tribute to the memory of the police officers who sacrificed their lives for the sake of the homeland.

At the collegium session, the Prime Minister made a speech, congratulated all police officers on the anniversary, and expressed gratitude for their service. Nikol Pashinyan noted that the police in our country has gone through different stages of formation and development. “The police are the backbone of the state and this backbone must always be strong, it is in the interests of all citizens.”

Speaking about the stages of the accomplishment of the police system since independence, the Prime Minister emphasized that they were turning points for preserving and strengthening law and order. In this context, Nikol Pashinyan emphasized the importance of having a dynamically developing police system in line with the times: “In essence, with our reforms, we are moving along that very path, but when we started the reforms in the police sector, it seemed like a fantasy when we thought about having a patrol police force, fully equipped with new equipment, devices, vehicles, etc.” Here, the Prime Minister emphasized that the reforms will be continuous, since life and perceptions are changing too quickly and everyday work must contain an element of reform. Nikol Pashinyan noted that this applies to both equipment, legislation, uniforms, armaments, and regulations.

According to the Prime Minister, any official, any person has their own scope of responsibility and powers, and it is extremely important that everyone feels personal responsibility within the scope of their functions. "But here there is another problem that we are facing and realizing: police work must provide guarantees in social terms, because police work is a very complex job, related to the life and safety of both the police officer and others. And we must take all these factors into account. We are moving in this direction and with this logic. I believe that in Armenia we have such traditions of police activity that, based on these traditions, we can constantly ensure this change and strengthen, transform and constantly bring the identity of the Police of the Republic of Armenia into line with modern requirements. In my opinion, we are moving in this direction," the Prime Minister emphasized.

Continuing to talk about the importance of individual responsibility and leadership of a police officer, Nikol Pashinyan added: “All police officers must assume leadership, because if a policeman has the lowest rank, it does not mean that he is not a leader, because wearing a police uniform is in itself a sign of leadership in his area of responsibility, to his own extent, and he should never think that others are implementing that leadership. Others, of course, implement it, but each to his own extent.” The Prime Minister emphasized that what he says about the police applies to all systems of state governance, since leadership has a conceptual significance from the point of view of reforms.

Summing up his speech, the Prime Minister once again congratulated everyone on the occasion of Police Day, thanked them for the services rendered to the Republic of Armenia. “I believe in you, I believe in your dedication, I believe in your professionalism, I believe in your potential, that you will be able to solve these problems and we will be able to make sure that not only the police in general, but every policeman is more professional, more responsible, more efficient with each passing day than the say before.”

On the occasion of Police Day, a group of employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Armenia were awarded the Prime Minister's commemorative medal and a certificate of appreciation for their contribution to the maintenance of law and order, as well as for their dedication and high professional training in performing their official duties.