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On April 17 on the initiative of the RA NA Standing Committee on Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs parliamentary hearings on the theme “Higher Public Trust Towards Police” were held in the National Assembly, where the NA Deputies, Armenian and foreign experts, heads of different departments of police, employees, representatives of the NGOs were attending.

The Chairman of the NA Standing Committee on Defense, National Security and Internal Affairs Koryun Nahapetyan had a welcoming word, informing the attendees that the main goal of these parliamentary hearings was to point out the ways, which were intended to citizen-policeman civilized relations and higher trust towards police.

Presenting the reforms made during the recent years and their results the Deputy of the RA Police Artur Osikyan thanked for the support to the international structures, particularly the OSCE Office in Yerevan (OiY) and assured those present that the state had been resolute to continue and bring to an end the reforms which had started.

The NA deputy Khachatur Kokobelyan noticed that in some cases the public opinion towards police became adequate to the trust towards state and power.

The Deputy Head of the OSCE OiY William Hanlon has said that the problem under debate is one of the prior problems of the Office, and they implement appropriate programmes with state bodies and NGOs, which are rather effective, as in Armenia this issue has become on the focus of the reforms of the sector. He has highlighted the participation of the Geneva Center for Democratic Control of Armed Forces in the reforms of the RA Security Bodies and the works of the formation of the public opinion.

Artashes Andriasyan, Head of the Training Center of the Educational Complex of the RA Police, Andranik Ghazaryan, Deputy Chief of Staff of the RA Police and Karen Mehrabyan, Deputy Head of the Public Order Protection Department of the RA Police touched upon the investment of the educational three-level system in the system and its benefits, the entrance order of the educational institutions, the police community base points and creation of community councils, ways of preservation of public order and the events aimed at the rise of public trust.

Carmen Vesaile, Consultant, DCAF introduced the participants of the hearings the experience of Romania of rising the public trust towards policemen. With respect to the rapprochement of policeman-citizen relationship highlighted the creation of the new website and the policemen’s readiness of organizing joint events with different representatives of the civil society.

During the parliamentary hearings the representatives and experts of the NGOs also presented their approaches on the issue under debate.

Avetik Ishkhanyan, Chairman of the “Helsinki Committee of Armenia” NGO noted that during the recent years positive move had been noticed in the works of police, the meetings with them had become more effective with respect to mutual understanding.

Arman Danileyan, Head of the “Civil Society Institute” NGO has noted that the police without public trust become a “repressive” body. He proposed the officials of the police attending the parliamentary hearings to take steps in disclosing tortures.

Virab Khachatryan, Deputy Head of the “National Legal Research Center” NGO presented the implemented programmes of their organization, which were relating to the transparency of the police works, the improvement of relations with the media, the society-policeman cooperation formats and the public awareness on the community police model.

Anna Margaryan, Docent of the Chair of Criminal Law, YSU, Co-chair of the Armenian Association of Criminologists presented the results of the sociological survey held with 14000 citizens in Yerevan and marzes of Armenia during 2009-2011, according to which the considerable part of the society still did not feel secure and does not trust its security to the policeman.

Yuri Kovyrshin, Independent expert, DCAF introduced the reforms made in the police system. To his assessment, the police reforms should be combined with system amendments of all sectors and functioning mechanisms of public oversight should be elaborated.

At the end of the parliamentary hearings Koryun Nahapetyan thanked the participants for active discussions and assured them that the sounded recommendations would be taken into account while making legislative reforms and working out concrete mechanisms aimed at the rise of public trust.