Police station from south Moldova city renovated

Chisinau, 22 October /MOLDPRES/ - The police station No 1 from the southern Cahul city has become more accessible and friendly, after it was renovated according to the best practices of the community police. The overall value of the assistance is 138,000 dollars and was provided by the U.S. Government, within the project, Support to Law Enforcement Reform in Moldova, implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).  

The station’s headquarters, with an area of 200 square metres, serves about 30,000 people. After the renovation, the building was endowed with furniture and advanced equipment. Also, the employees were trained based on a programme on implementation of the community police concept, which includes: criminology and prevention of criminality, instruments and ways used in the work of the community police, ways of identifying and solving the problems of community safety, etc.  

„A modern and comfortable headquarters for the employees provides to policemen the comfort to work and allows providing of quality services to the citizens, who, for their part, feel that they can discuss and interact with confidence with the police. This is not just a superficial change, but one of approach and attitude. The station is the beginning, people are continuation,’’ the state secretary at the Interior Ministry, Serghei Diaconu, said at the opening of the headquarters.     

„This renovated and well-arranged police station will provide a modern and functional environment, which is to consolidate the relation between policemen and the community. A greater accessibility of the law-enforcement institution  strengthens the relation between the community and police, enhances the confidence and generates a cooperation which reduces the criminality and allows the police better meet the needs of the community,’’ a high-ranking official of the Office of Global Women’s Issues of the U.S. Department of State, Katrina Fotovat, said.   

At the same time, a room for presentation and recognition and a room for witnesses were arranged at the Cahul-based police inspectorate; the latter room is protected through strained-glass window, in order to allow the recognition of suspects in conditions of safety and confidentiality; for instance, in cases of domestic violence, trafficking of people or other violent offences. The room for witnesses can be used, if needed, as room for hearings. Just as in the case of the police station, both rooms were renovated with the support of the United States Government.  

„The transformation of this police station is a clear-cut illustration of the commitment of the national and international partners to modernize the work of the police for the benefit of the men and women from Moldova. We believe that, through the transformation of the space in which police officers and citizens interact, we contribute to the establishment of a new culture, to the consolidation of the spirit of mutual commitment and enhancing the trust between the police and the community,’’  UNDP Resident Representative in Moldova Dima Al-Khatib said.  

Photo: PNUD