Federal Law "On Police": description, adoption and implementation

The Russian police has become the police not so long ago. What has changed since the adoption of the Federal Law "On Police"? To answer this question, one has to look into the normative act itself.

When was the Federal Law "On the Police" adopted?

The bill came into force in 2011, replacing the decree of the RSFSR "On the Militia" of 1991. Discussion of the project began in 2010. The initiator of the introduction of new elements in the system of internal affairs was Dmitry Medvedev. The normative act was published on the Internet, as a result of which he collected more than 20 thousand comments. Some of them were subsequently taken into account for working with the text of the future bill.

In 2010, the president proposed to rename the Russian police to the police. A lot of criticism began around the offer. Supporters of the project believed that the concept of "police" is associated with professionalism, efficiency and quality of work. Opponents of renaming talked about the negative context of the concept, which allegedly referred to the times of the Great Patriotic War.

52% of respondents, according to FOM surveys, reacted to the project indifferently, 33% considered the project undesirable, and only 11% supported the renaming.

Legal basis

The federal law "On the Police", namely his first article, fixes the moments concerning the appointment of the police. The law says that the officials of the instance are intended to protect freedoms, rights, as well as the health and life of Russian citizens. The main functions of policemen are the protection of public order and the counteraction of crime.

The directions of the police activity, according to article 2 of the law in question, are the protection of society and the individual, the suppression of offenses and crimes, the search for individuals, the maintenance of law and order and security, as well as control over compliance with the legislation in the detective field.

The federal law "On the Police", namely his third article, regulates the legal basis for policemen. Here it is necessary to allocate first of all the Russian Constitution, separate treaties of international law, regulatory acts of the Government and some federal laws.

About the principles of activity

The basic principles of the functioning of police officers are still being enshrined in the Federal Law "On Police". In particular, Article 5 of the law speaks of respect for and observance of human and citizen's rights in Russia. The police should in every possible way contribute to the development and qualitative functioning of this principle. The next principle is legality. So, policemen should perform their duties qualitatively only in full accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation. The seventh article speaks about the impartiality of the police. The police must stand up for the protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens regardless of gender, nationality, race, religion and other distinctive elements.

Openness and publicity is another important principle that secures the law (in Article 8). The work of policemen should be visible for absolutely any citizen of the Russian Federation. Finally, articles 9 and 10 talk about trust and support from citizens, as well as on interaction and cooperation. Without these principles, policing would simply be impossible.

Duties of the police

The duties of the police are enshrined in Article 12 of the bill under consideration. Thus, the main functions of representatives of law enforcement agencies are the following:

• Acceptance and registration of messages and statements from Russian citizens concerning violations of rights and freedoms;
• Immediate arrival at the scene of the commission of an offense and a crime;

• Providing first aid to people affected by crime and offenses;
• Identification of the causes of crime;
• Ensuring the safety of citizens, control over public order;
• Provision of public events (rallies, pickets, processions, etc.);
• Adoption of quality measures to save citizens during emergency situations;
• Initiation of criminal cases, conducting inquiries;
• Implementation of search and operational activities;
• Identification of individuals and much more.

The federal law of the Russian Federation "On Police" establishes a sufficiently large number of responsibilities for representatives of the structure in question.

The rights of policemen

The rights of the structure under review are enshrined in Article 13 of the Federal Law "On Police". To fulfill the assigned functions, the policeman has the following rights:

• To demand from individuals the cessation of unlawful actions;
• To check the documents and identity cards of citizens, if there are data that provide grounds for suspecting certain persons in offenses or crimes;
• Call in the police of certain officials or ordinary citizens on the criminal cases being investigated;

• To visit various organizations and public associations when investigating criminal or administrative cases;
• To demand that people leave the scene of an offense or crime;
• Draw up protocols, collect evidence, conduct operational search activities;
• Deliver individual citizens to the police station;
• To demand examination on written requests and much more.

The law "On Police" secures a sufficiently large number of police rights. The main types of rights were identified above.

About the use of physical strength

What does the Federal Law of the Russian Federation (No. 3 FZ) "On the Police" about the use of physical force by the employees? According to the normative act under consideration, a policeman has the right to use violence in isolated, exceptional cases. A police officer has a number of special means with which he is able to use physical force.

Each policeman is required to undergo special training in the possession of defense equipment, as well as to obtain a certificate of professional suitability (based on the results of the audit). According to the draft law, the police officer is not responsible for causing harm to citizens and organizations during the use of physical force. However, the police excess of their powers will entail responsibility established by the legislation of the Russian Federation.

About a police officer

How does the Federal Law (No. 3 FZ) "Police" characterize the police officer himself? The article 25 of the normative act under consideration will help answer this question. So, according to the law, the policeman is a citizen of the Russian Federation, performing duties in the internal affairs bodies in accordance with the established procedure. In the presence of a police officer, there must be a special title confirming his status.

The police officer, according to the bill under consideration, is at the disposal of the federal executive body. He performs functions and implements rights in accordance with a special job description. The police officer must possess a special identity card, badge, badge, uniform and firearms. Every policeman is subject to obligatory fingerprint registration (fingerprinting).

About guarantees

The Federal Law "On Police" (the main law as amended on 03.07.16) fixes the basic social guarantees of each police officer. What exactly is worth highlighting here?

The first and, perhaps, the most important social guarantee of a policeman concerns pay. Every police officer must be provided with timely monetary allowance, which is a means of material support and an incentive to continue his career. Material support for a police officer is regulated by Russian law.

The next social security concerns insurance payments to police officers. Thus, the death of a policeman or the receipt of severe injuries will entail certain payments to the public, designed to compensate for the harm received during the performance of official duties. The health and life of any policeman should be subject to state insurance. This should be done at the expense of the federal budget of the Russian Federation.

Housing provision of a police officer is also an important social security. Each policeman should be provided with an office accommodation at the expense of funds from the federal budget. At the same time, the police itself has a special housing fund, formed by the federal executive body.

In addition to all of the above, it is also worth highlighting the social guarantees associated with the medical care of police officers and their family members, as well as guarantees governing the procedure for passing police service.

Control and supervision

The Federal Law of the Russian Federation "On Police", adopted in February 2011, regulates, in addition to all of the above, state and public control over the activities of police officers. Thus, Article 49 of the draft law fixes the need to monitor the police structure by the chambers of the Federal Assembly, the President of the Russian Federation, the Constitution, federal and federal constitutional laws.

Public control over the police should consist in exercising supervision by the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, various supervisory commissions and public councils formed under federal executive bodies.