PUBLIC COUNCIL AT THE MINISTRY OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS

1. Approval of the Public Council’s work plan for 2007;

2. Discussion of the work schedule of the mobile group for monitoring compliance with constitutional rights and freedoms of man and citizen in the activities of internal affairs bodies. Approval of the schedule;

3. Other issues (at the initiative of those present).

During the discussion of the first issue, members of the Public Council from among the initiators and responsible for carrying out a particular item of the plan raised a number of issues related to certain difficulties in organizing its implementation. As a result, it was decided to join the efforts of representatives of the public and law enforcement officers in solving these problems. These include ways to resolve the issue of psychological and legal assistance to persons released from places of imprisonment, assistance in obtaining a passport, provision of clothing, etc. Development of plans-summaries and a training schedule for employees of the Department in the system of in-service training on the prevention of violence, child abuse, and the implementation of gender equality in the activities of internal affairs bodies.

The discussion of the second issue did not cause any particular disagreements among the members of the Public Council. The routes of the mobile group’s movement around the region and the form of admission to visit internal affairs bodies and divisions of the region were approved by the Council members unanimously.

As for the third point of the plan, the issue raised by the head of the Chernihiv branch of the NGO “Public Control” Tamara Petrova regarding the legality of the Novozavodsk District Court’s sentencing of two residents of the “Nadiya” shelter under an administrative protocol was considered here. This protocol was drawn up as a result of an appeal to the police by the security guard of this institution with a request to stop the offense (smoking) on ​​the territory of the “Nadiya” shelter by two of its residents. After that, employees of the juvenile criminal police department of the Novozavodsk police department arrived at the scene of the incident, drew up an administrative protocol under Article 175-1 of the Administrative Code of Ukraine (smoking in an unspecified place), and also conducted a preventive conversation to explain the harmfulness of smoking and the age from which smoking is allowed in Ukraine.

This administrative protocol was sent to the Novozavodsky District Court of the city of Chernihiv, where it was considered without the participation of the director of the Nadiya shelter and representatives of the board of trustees.

On this issue, the members of the board decided to prepare and send a letter to the prosecutor’s office with a request to assess the legality of the adoption of the said court decision, taking into account the circumstances of the consideration of this case. And also to prepare an instruction to all units of the VKMSN of the region with the requirement to apply a differentiated, personal approach to each violator when establishing the degree of guilt and punishment for each fact of an administrative offense by minors.

Central Criminal Police Office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in Chernihiv Oblast