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Vladimir Cazacov: reform changed not only police officers’ uniforms, but also their mentality, including in terms of their work with people who use drugs

15 December 2015
Interview by Alisa Grebinskyte, Assistant at Policy Reform Team, EHRN. Prepared with contribution by Eka Iakobishvili, EHRN Expert on Human Rights and Drug Policies.

December 10, the International Human Rights Day, marked the end of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, which lasted since November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. During this time, women rights activists from all over the world carried out various activities calling to end violence against women and girls. Joining the Initiative, EHRN was implementing various communication activities calling for the partnership between law enforcement and civil society and emphasizing its importance.

To mark the end of the Initiative, EHRN presents an interview with Vladimir Cazacov, Deputy Chief at the General Department of Public Security of Moldova. Moldova is one of the countries of our region qualified as a good example in building partnership between law enforcement and civil society. Vladimir Cazacov is keen to share the experience and knowledge that Moldova has accumulated in the area of drug treatment, drug policing and police reforms.

Read the full article on the EHRN website

Please tell us about the police reform in the Moldova Republic. What results has it yielded?

The police reform has affected the whole police structure. The history of the police reform in the Republic of Moldova dates back to 2010. In the process of the reform the police not only changed their uniforms and got new supplies, but they also changed their mentality, including in terms of their work with people who use drugs. Relevant agencies preventing and combatting drug abuse among people who use drugs, including the police, realized that punishment is not an efficient tool for solving social problems related to drug use. Building on this approach, the Drug Strategy of the Republic of Moldova offers a comprehensive, multidisciplinary and balanced approach to dealing with drug-related problems, based on an integrated, interdepartmental, interdisciplinary and multi-sectoral cooperation at all levels. Speaking of the police’s former approach – a person who uses drugs was perceived solely as an offender or a law breaker. Today, that person is regarded as someone in need of assistance. One of the results of using this new approach is that in the Republic of Moldova a critical partnership with NGOs was established, and this partnership has helped to reveal many issues in police work; due to those issues certain police activities did not really lead to a reduction in crime. One of the best examples of the critical partnership between the police and civil society in the Republic of Moldova is their collaboration to identify the shortcomings in the police activities that may lead to serious human rights violations in relation to persons from risk groups.

An example of this collaboration is the joint work of the General Police Inspectorate and the Union of organizations working in the field of HIV prevention and harm reduction (UORN) that signed a cooperation agreement. In accordance with the Agreement, the parties undertook to develop and adopt joint plans for HIV prevention in key affected populations in close cooperation with the state medical-sanitary institutions and non-governmental organizations working in this field. Also, it set a goal to disseminate information materials on HIV prevention programs and to reduce risks in key affected populations with the goal of referring people from the communities at risk to services that offer assistance and psychosocial support.

Read the full article on the EHRN website

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