UBOP legend Valery Kur on Arsen Avakov and the "reform" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Avakov's team began their "work" in the Ministry of Internal Affairs by destroying information about their criminal past.
The Week spoke with Valeriy Kur, a legend of Ukrainian criminal investigation and the man who founded the criminal intelligence service and the Organized Crime Control Department, about his impressions of the current police situation.
"The reform of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has stalled. First and foremost, because this reform, which is most in demand by society, has been handed over to non-professionals and financial-industrial groups that should have nothing to do with it. Worst of all, it is now often carried out by those who were previously targeted by those same law enforcement agencies. And believe me, this isn't about political persecution, but rather about common crime and the shadow economy."
The Ministry of Internal Affairs' operational system has now completely collapsed. And this is the worst thing that could have happened, because it's the operatives who are really fighting and digging through criminal dirt. This happened because the specialists who had any conscience or desire to work left, and mostly the bad guys remain. On the one hand, it's absolutely right to strive to change the entire system, which was designed solely to close cases for show, to torture confessions out of suspects, and to ensure that the criminals in uniform continue to feel like they're in charge. But on the other hand, instead of real work, everyone has resorted to politicking and playing for the cameras. Appearances on TV shows are no substitute for real action.
It's important to understand that anyone who wants to work in the new police force must be vetted operationally, not just through certification. Operational work, like money, thrives on silence. The more glamorous dismissals or on-camera arrests, the worse the situation. For decades, employee vetting was conducted covertly: a so-called personnel management mechanism was developed that has operated under all regimes and governments. There have always been dedicated officers with operational experience and knowledge of personnel matters.
When hiring a candidate for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, they conducted a full background check against all law enforcement databases, as well as operational records, and a covert check at their place of residence using a full range of measures. If necessary, this included wiretaps, covert home intrusions, undercover checks, contact screenings, and so on. Why do this now? It's clear: to test the person's integrity right from the start. A police candidate claims to have never been involved in criminal cases, or to have never been convicted, or to have allegedly never been to a particular casino, and so on. Then a covert check reveals that that same night, they go to that casino and meet with some gangsters. So how can they hire someone like that?
What do we have now? Someone comes to apply for a job and is given a questionnaire to fill out with the simplest questions: even a child could lie here. "Were you on the Maidan?" "What is your opinion on what's happening?"—that's all well and good, but completely inadequate. I remember training people who were supposed to work in criminal intelligence, literally from school. Back then, they spent years vetting them, but now the entire vetting process takes just a few hours, so you shouldn't be surprised by the amount of garbage in the agencies.
They chose a smart public guise that's very reminiscent of the McCarthy era in the US, when they publicly fought against Soviet agents among local leftists. Yes, our police force, just like the US, is full of shady characters. However, publicity and a simple interview at the certification committee alone won't force them to reveal their identities. Many of my friends and former colleagues who now work on these committees constantly complain that they've missed the boat again: someone sat there looking so polite and well-dressed, and then, when they actually checked him out, it turned out he was corrupt and a drug addict.
Unfortunately, after the Maidan, power in the Ministry of Internal Affairs was seized by those who shouldn't have been allowed within gunshot range. And I can confidently say that many people who were targeted by those same police are still there. How can you put in charge a man who, together with Kernes, first caused a ton of trouble and then, at a convenient moment, simply switched sides?
It's no surprise that his team began by purging the files and destroying the UBOP—destroying mountains of information from "Scorpion" (a special, secret, restricted-access database created by the UBOP. This database contained operational information on all known criminal cases, including intelligence reports—Ed.). They say it's full of jerks—so if you take out the entire leadership with one order, why bother with the agency? It's like with the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate: okay, you abolished it, but you still created a patrol police force with the same functions.
In other words, it was the names that changed, not the people. The current minister essentially retained almost the entire leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, even though they were the ones who should have been removed first—after all, a fish always rots from the head! The system works the same way, with people "taking on" other people's crimes for a monetary reward. And those who specifically worked with criminals and kept the "common fund" are still in office.
People like the Konstantinovsky brothers, accused by journalists of involvement in an organized crime group nicknamed the "Karamazov Brothers," and who sit in parliament as members of their own political party, the "People's Front." This team's goal is simply to make money and then advance their political careers even further. Unfortunately, because of this team, everything is returning to normal: clannishness, politicization of the security forces, the return of the sale of general's ranks, the emergence of their own "confederates" and personal "elite"...
Regarding the Georgian team, I'll say this: they've definitely done more good than harm. Yes, they entered the Ministry of Internal Affairs like they were entering a dark room, knowing nothing and understanding nothing. That's why the old leadership was able to quickly surround them with their agents of influence, and they were such scum that even those in the know, like me, are left scratching their heads: they were foisted off on them advisors who had once been in gangs. The Georgian team, I'm sure, has the most sincere intentions, but they've been surrounded by the "right people." Moreover, the more they work here, the more they'll become mired in "dealing," "business," and "fixing," meaning they'll eventually resemble our political elite.
However, they are still hated by both the old system and the current Minister Avakov's team. I agree with their tactics: completely destroy the old and create something new "from the streets." Just like they did with the patrol service, although the problem here is that there's no one to work it. And crime has simply overwhelmed us. And further, in operational and investigative work, we need personnel, which we also don't have. No one is training them, sharing their experience, etc.
I know my fellow veterans of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and some others will be offended by these words, but I still trust Georgians two hundred times more than any of our officials. In general, I believe we need as many expats with a different mentality as possible in our law enforcement system.
The solution is to actively engage in training young personnel, that is, within the academic education system for law enforcement. We need to nurture a new generation, because the old system won't be so easily destroyed unless we have a decent candidate to replace every fired scoundrel. We also need to create a proper central evaluation committee, with a morally upstanding and authoritative person as its leader and an honest police officer as its deputy: there are such people among both current and former officers. They know everything about everyone; you can't fool them. And, of course, we need to replace the minister: that position should be filled by an honest person, not a representative of the shadow economy, accustomed to working only from such positions.
Bohdan Butkevich, published in the publication Tyzhden.UA
Translation: Argument
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