The Ukrainian state, together with local authorities and territorial communities, must create a safe environment for every Ukrainian. This was stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a speech at the All-Ukrainian Forum "Ukraine 30. Safe Community" in Kyiv.
The Head of State noted that the issue of ensuring the security of Ukrainians is more relevant than ever, and today at the forum it will be considered for the first time in the context of the role and place of the territorial community in this process.
The President stressed that every resident of the community has the right to protection of his or her life, health and property from criminal encroachments, civil protection, prevention and elimination of the consequences of emergencies, natural disasters, fires, quality and affordable administrative services.
"Community safety begins where there is light on the street at night, where there are no potholes on the roads, where people are not afraid to turn to a police officer for help, because they know him personally, because they trust this person," said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“Community safety begins where the local volunteer fire brigade, which has all the necessary tools and professional equipment, works in a coordinated and fast manner. Where the protection of children, women and the elderly from domestic violence is not only a matter of the police, but also a social problem. Where it is possible to use a helicopter to provide emergency medical care in any part of our large country, to quickly evacuate the injured or sick to the hospital. These are simple, at first glance, things, but complex, in my opinion, we should talk about today," he added.
According to the President, the state and local authorities, together with the concerned community, must create a safe environment for the life of each resident, "so that these issues are addressed directly by those people who live in a particular region."
"Security begins with each of us. Today, exclusively those who support this approach are in this room: those who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 ensure not only their own safety, but also the safety of those around them. I really urge you to convey this to every resident of every territorial community who has elected you and who trusts you,” Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
For his part, Minister of the Interior Denys Monastyrskyi noted that communication between law enforcement agencies and local communities is very important in ensuring the safety of citizens. In order to improve cooperation, communication chats will be created, in which the heads of territorial communities will be able to communicate directly with the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and representatives of the National Police and the State Emergency Service of Ukraine on the ground.
In addition, according to the Interior Minister, it is planned to triple the number of community police officers from next year (up to 2,000).
According to him, 3,554 people died on the roads of Ukraine last year alone. Therefore, in order to improve road safety, complexes for auto-recording violations should actively be installed.
Among the priorities is the full provision of patrol police officers with chest cameras (video recorders), as most conflicts take place on the roads.
"Starting next year, there will be a body camera in every patrol police unit, and police officers will be obliged to turn it on when communicating with citizens. Thus, we are convinced that we will be able to achieve higher standards of protection of rights," said Denys Monastyrskyi.
As part of the implementation of the barrier-free policy, police officers already use the application, which allows them to communicate with people with speech and hearing impairments.
The security area should be the school and other institutions where children study. To this end, the President initiated the Security Educator project. According to Denys Monastyrskyi, this will be the person who will coordinate security issues in each school and work closely with the police and civil defense agencies.
"Because if we allow offenses there, if we allow the spread of drugs, bullying and so on, citizens who then violate public order and are a threat to society will grow up from there," the minister said.