The law on the new national police force signed two months ago by Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko came into effect on Nov. 7. The police force is meant to replace the old Soviet-style police, also known as militsia, throughout the year.
Earlier this week the Cabinet of Ministers appointed Khatia
Dekanoidze, former Georgian education minister and head of police academy, as
the new head of Ukraine’s national police.
“We are going to do everything in our power so that the
Ukrainian National Police will be modern and European,” Dekanoidze said at a
Cabinet of Ministers meeting on Nov. 4.
Dekanoidze has until Dec. 31 of next year to create the
specially trained police force and establish patrol police in the places where
they have not yet been introduced.
Under the law the new units will include criminal police,
patrol police, pre-trial investigation police, police guards, and a special
task force.
Ukraine’s Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said that it will
take time for Ukrainians to see the changes.
“There will be a transition. There will be a few months of
personnel changes, there will still be a glimpse of the old uniform for a few
weeks … but that’s all! As of today the militsia has been closed,” Avakov
wrote on his Facebook page.
However, not many people on Kyiv’s streets seemed to be aware of
the reform.
“The militsia is gone? I did not hear about it. Well…I suppose
that is a good thing,” Yuriy Orlov, a student at Taras Shevchenko University,
said on Nov. 7.
Amendments to the road safety law passed in July also came
into effect the same day.
Cameras will be installed across Kyiv to curb the city’s bad
driving habits. The cameras will record license plate numbers, and the owner –
not the driver – will be fined if caught violating the road safety laws.
The owner will be notified of the penalty via letter, email or
phone within 3 days of the offense being committed if the car users are
registered online. The website, which has yet to be launched, will allow the
driver to watch video footage of the violation.
“In Kyiv several cameras are already operating in test mode.
In just a few hours they recorded hundreds of violations,” Taras Hook,
head of the Lviv patrol police, told reporters on Nov. 6.
The penalty for violating the new road safety laws is divided
into various stages. Each driver is given 150 points each year, with 50 points
being deducted for each offence. After a driver has expended the points system,
the driver will be forced to pay a fine of up to Hr 255. The driver has 30 days
to pay the fine. If not paid in time the fine will be doubled and the driver
could face additional penalties.
Information regarding any fines incurred by cars with foreign
license plates will be transferred to the border guards.
As part of the new national police law, the police now have the power to tow trucks across the country if they are illegally parked. The patrol police can now have a car towed without notifying
the driver if the car is improperly parked and it is preventing other cars from
moving. In order to claim back the car, a driver must present themselves to the
police and pay a fine.
Reactions in Kyiv to the new amendments are mixed.
“It’s just another way for the government to make money off
people. That’s all it is,” Vyachislav Romanenko, a Kyiv taxi driver, said of
the new cameras and tow trucks.
Others, like pensioner Darina Ostapchuk, do think it will
improve the city’s traffic issues.
“I don’t have a car but frankly I’m sick of people parking
everywhere. Just today… a tram was stalled for 1 hour because of someone parking
halfway across the lines.”
Kyiv Post staff writer Isobel Koshiw can be reached at
[email protected]
