UNIPATH STAFF
To stem corruption and increase efficiency, Kazakhstan is combining its traffic and street patrols into one police force.
The decision was based on pilot mergers conducted by the two police organizations in several regions in 2012. During the pilot mergers, police patrols became more mobile and ensured that targeted areas had a higher police presence. “The pilot mergers, initiated on instructions from [President Nursultan Nazarbayev], gave positive results, and the draft of a corresponding government resolution already has been prepared,” Interior Minister Kalmukhanbet Kasymov said.
Ilyas Khakimov, a traffic policeman from a suburb of Almaty, applauded the reform.
“I work on the road, where anything can happen – not only a traffic accident but also fights between accident victims and culprits,” he said. “We’re not armed, though. If they made me an all-purpose policeman, everyone would benefit from that.”
Kazakhstan built upon Georgia’s success in completing a similar merger. Georgia effectively curbed corruption among traffic police by replacing every officer with new ones at higher salaries. Police rotations ensure that officers have fewer opportunities for corruption.
Like many former Soviet republics, Kazakhstan has struggled to improve its rankings on global corruption indexes, such as those published by Transparency International.