The Minister of Internal Affairs presented the report of the Ministry’s activities of 2023 within the format of “Minister’s Hour” at the Georgian Parliament. In his speech, among other important issues, Vakhtang Gomelauri, focused on the implemented and current reforms in the Ministry of Internal Affairs [MIA], steps taken in the direction of the fight against crime, international police cooperation and the improvement of social guarantees for the employees of the Ministry.

According to Vakhtang Gomelauri, the successful implementation of projects announced and planned by the MIA, the implementation of elaborated government plans and various reforms, defined the Georgia’s status as a safe country on the international level. According to the minister, statistical data and international studies show the effectiveness of the reforms and the fight against crime.

“In 2023, the trend of increasing crime-solving rate continued. The detection of registered crimes exceeds 64%. Herewith, the trend of decreasing the number of crimes continues. Significant crimes such as murders and attempted murders, as well as severe health injuries, have been reduced. The results of the past years were positively reflected in the annual global index of “law and order” of the international research organization”, – said Gomelauri.

He also focused on the reforms implemented by the MIA in the direction of the criminal police, as well as on measures undertaken against organized crime.

“The year 2023 was also important in the direction of criminal police reform. Operative, investigative and community policing directions were completely separated in all territorial bodies of Georgia. Within the framework of the reform, the investigator’s functios and duties were defined, only to investigate criminal cases, and other police duties have been completely lifted from them, improving the efficiency of the investigators’ activities.

Within the framework of the same reform, police department of Imereti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti was split, leading to the formation of the police department of Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti as an independent unit. Within the framework of the criminal police reform, the development of the Institute of community officers continued, which was launched in Rustavi and Batumi in 2023.

In his speech, the MIA also focused on the expansion of the network of police attaches.

According to Vakhtang Gomelauri, last year, the international police cooperation expanded significantly, with 18 police attaches deployed in various states as of today, covering affairs of 36 countries. Appropriate procedures are also in progress regarding the expansion of the network of police attaches in several additional countries.

“For the first time in the history of Georgia, the Ministers of Interior of Germany and Spain paid an official visit to our country, and we also went on a visit and held official meetings with the Ministers of Home Affairs of Germany and Hungary”, - noted Vakhtang Gomelauri.

He discussed the infrastructure projects implemented in the units of the MIA to bolster their capacities. Among them, the Minister focused on the delivery of a new helicopter designated for rescue operations. According to him, based on negotiations with “Airbus Helicopters”, the deadlines for helicopter handover have been reduced and the first aerial transport has already been handed to the Ministry, while the next two are planned to be delivered to the Georgian side in the nearest future.

Vakhtang Gomelauri also noted that last year, the Emergency Situations Management Service purchased 4 speedboats worth up to 2 million GEL, a fire-rescue vehicle worth more than 11 million GEL, special equipment for firefighters worth 3 million five hundred thousand GEL and fire resistant uniform worth up to 4 million GEL.

In his report, the Minister focused on strengthening the social guarantees of the Ministry"s employees and noted that 2023 was a significant year in the direction of strengthening social guarantees for police officers. According to him, the salary of the employees of the Ministry continues to increase.

“It can be stated that 2023 was an important year in the direction of enhancing social guarantees. In the same year, in order to provide decent working conditions for police officers, the buildings of various units were constructed, renovated and equipped with new infrastructure and equipment, the renovation of the car fleet actively continues as well”, - noted Vakhtang Gomelauri.

He also reviewed the construction of the “Police City” housing project and noted that up to 1,000 police officers will receive apartments within the framework of the project. Vakhtang Gomelauri noted that under the initiative of the government, a package of legislative changes was submitted to the parliament in 2023, ensuring the improvement of social guarantees for the employees dismissed from the law enforcement agencies.

The Minister informed members of the Parliament regarding the major projects implemented in 2023 focused on the improvement of the road traffic safety and noted that the operational area of the patrol police is gradually expanding throughout the country. Gomelauri also discussed the reforms implemented in the Border Police and Patrol Police Department in the direction of enhancing border protection.

According to him, last year important steps were taken in the direction of land border protection, rapid response, strengthening of operative-investigative components, training of border guards, improvement of field training, sector equipping, introduction of modern information technologies and development of border police capacities.

Vakhtang Gomelauri also focused on the legislative initiatives elaborated by the agency and noted that a number of important legislative changes were implemented last year under the initiative of the MIA. At the end of his speech, the Minister noted that this year, the MIA will actively continue to prevent crime, fight against crime, ensure the rule of law and citizens’ safety, implement measures and reforms focused on improving the quality of police services.

The Minister expressed his gratitude towards the employees of the agency for ensuring public order and citizens’ safety. Vakhtang Gomelauri paid tribute to the memory of the employees who died in the line of duty.