They will not be able to shoot more often but they will not be able
The Committee on Security and the Fight against Corruption of the Duma has prepared a draft law on the extension of police powers for the second reading. In the end, it turned out that not everything was as scary as it could be: At least the police would not be able to shoot if they imagined the threat of an attack. Citizens are advised to seek compensation from the police for breaking into a car or apartment.
Photo: Alexey Merinov
Ernest Valeev (ER), the deputy head of the Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption, reminded colleagues that the first attempts at similar changes in the Police Act had already been made in 2013 and the current, third version of the law had been submitted. adopted at first reading in December 2020.
The document, Mr Valeev said diplomatically, “has aroused great public interest” (meaning it has been criticized by Human Rights Ombudsman Tatiana Moskalkova, the Federal Bar Association and a number of other experts and human rights activists), but now the government has proposed 28 amendments. the “series of controversial issues” is removed. The committee recommended the text with these amendments to the House for a second reading next week.
In fact, not all “controversial problems” have been eliminated by far – but of course the most obvious and annoying ones. For example, at first reading, it was proposed to extend the right of Home Office staff to use weapons. A police officer who had already put the weapon on standby in the presence of a serious threat should have been given the right to shoot not only the detainee who approached or “touched” his service weapon, but also if the citizen committed unspecified “other actions providing reason to consider them as threat attacks. “
Until the second reading, it was decided not to make any changes to the article on the law “On the police”, which talks about the use of weapons. Everything will stay the same: an unconditional ban on shooting to kill women regardless of their age and stage of pregnancy, as well as “people with obvious signs of disability” or minors if their age is obvious or known to the police. And only if pregnant women, the disabled or children show armed resistance or take part in an armed attack can they be shot.
However, the extension of other police powers will take place to the extent required by the Ministry of the Interior. The right to “set up posts and barriers” will be complemented by the right to “temporarily fence” not only places of crime or administrative offenses (eg traffic accidents), but also places of mass public events and territories to “block” residential buildings or land.
Personal searches of citizens, their belongings and cars will be possible not only “if there is evidence” that these citizens are carrying or transporting something prohibited, such as weapons or radioactive substances – it will be enough for the police officer to have “reason to believe” that the citizen carries or carries something bad. It is now possible to enter Russians' homes or open their cars without consent “to stop the crimes” – and it will also be possible to detain criminal suspects or those to whom eyewitnesses point out that they have committed a crime. And also in connection with the “verification of received reports” of violations …
The opening of vehicles without the consent of the owners in order to save the lives of citizens or to suppress the crime will be allowed even if the perpetrator inside the accident is “with signs of intoxication”. If the owner was not there, he would have to be informed of the incident within 24 hours and the police would have to ensure that unauthorized persons were not allowed in the car.
Another reason for opening the vehicle without the owner's consent is to “find out the circumstances of the accident”. “The child is locked, a man who has lost consciousness, in the cabin is a corpse,” – so explained this standard Deputy Interior Minister Igor Zubov at a committee meeting. And Mr Valeev noted that the police in this case only received the same powers as the Russian Guard had for several years, “while the Ministry of the Interior is the main body for public order, the Russian Guard only provides assistance in this.
According to the Attorney General's Office and Rosgvardie itself, there are no complaints of violations when opening cars, the committee notes.
Originally, they wanted to prescribe that the police were not responsible for damaged property in the event of intrusion into the dwelling without the consent of the owner or the hacked car. And one more thing – that in the performance of their duties and in connection with the “exercise of the rights granted to the police”, the employees of the Ministry of the Interior are in principle not responsible for anything. But in the second reading, these controversial norms were also removed from the text of the law.
Aleksey Kurinny (KPRF) nevertheless suggested stipulating: if the autopsy or penetration proves to be “inadequate”, compensation for the owner's damage is “carried out at the expense of the federal budget.” But Mr Zubov replied that the Civil Code already gave the right to seek full damages and, in some cases, damages in court, even if the actions of officials were lawful.
“If a police employee is guilty – there will be compensation,” the deputy minister said. “If we regulate everything, there will be no employees left in the police, because we will give everyone a reason to make a claim against them,” said Anatoly Vyborny (United Russia). The number of court decisions on citizens' claims against the Ministry of the Interior is still high, said representatives of the police department.