New law on police in Russia: what else will policemen be allowed
The State Duma adopts in the second reading a bill on expanding the powers of the police. In fact, there is no question of expanding the speech – the document only clarifies the list of grounds on which police officers can open cars, enter living quarters, and introduce some other operational measures.
Two of the most resonant points of the bill – on additional grounds for the use of weapons, as well as the removal of responsibility for those committed by them in the line of duty – were rejected by the deputies.
In the original version of the project, it was proposed to expand the grounds for the use of weapons in detainees. The current law “On the Police” allows a police officer who has already taken out a firearm to act through the police, approaching the employee, while reducing the distance indicated by him, or to touch his firearm. “
The authors also proposed to give the police officers the right to open fire. “Perform other actions that give reason to regard them as a threat of attack.”
This vague wording drew criticism from human rights defenders and did not like the legislators – they rejected it.
Another amendment to the bill was lengthy and read as follows:
A police officer is not subject to prosecution for actions committed in the performance of duties assigned to the police, and in connection with the exercise of the rights granted to the police, if these actions were carried out on the grounds and in accordance with the established federal constitutional laws, this Federal Law, other federal laws and other regulatory legal acts constituting the legal basis of the police activity “.
This paragraph can be interpreted as relieving the policeman of responsibility for offenses committed by him in the performance of legal duties.
At the same time, Article 33 of the Federal Law “On the Police” says: “A police officer, regardless of the position being replaced, is responsible for his actions (inaction) and for the orders and orders given.”
The deputies rejected this amendment not in the second reading to rewrite the entire article of the Federal Law.
What were the policemen allowed?
According to the bill passed in the second reading, police officers will be allowed to:
- Not to introduce themselves and not to show an official ID if their life and health are in danger or if a crime needs to be urgently stopped;
- carry out a personal search of a citizen, his belongings and a car if he is suspected of having weapons, ammunition, explosives, drugs or radioactive substances. If a citizen refuses to be examined, law enforcement officers have the right not to let him in or out of the cordoned-off territory;
- enter someone else’s home, land and territory, if you need to detain suspects in committing crimes;
- “mark with accessible means, including visual means”, and temporarily fence off places of public and public events.
- to open a car when there is a threat to the life and health of citizens – for example, when a person is in danger of needing medical assistance or a suspect is there;
- inspect the scene of the incident, terrain, premises, vehicles, objects, documents and other objects of the incident in connection with the verification of statements and reports of incidents.
However, all these rights in one form or another are available to the police and the police.
Who wants to shoot so badly?
The idea of expanding the freedom of use of weapons by police officers is not new. In 2015, a group of deputies from the Security Committee headed by Irina Yana Initiative (United Russia).
Then the legislators proposed, in particular, to allow police officers, if necessary, to shoot at women if they have no visible signs of pregnancy. The current law prohibits opening fire on women if they do not carry out armed resistance.
In 2017, Vasily Piskarev, who replaced Yarovaya as head of the United Russia Security Committee, and his deputy Ernest Valeev submitted to the Duma a bill allowing the opening of fire in a crowd “in order to prevent (suppress) a terrorist act and release the hostages.”
The document was criticized by human rights activists and did not find support even among party members. “The initiative is quite serious, and we recommended that it be withdrawn in order to hold a discussion in the faction,” said then Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Sergei Neverov.