The police have switched to an enhanced duty regime to ensure public safety during the holidays

All personnel of the internal affairs department have been engaged, and the number of patrols on the streets has been increased. The day before, together with representatives of housing and communal services and the Ministry of Emergency Situations, attics and basements in buildings adjacent to the venues for mass events were inspected. All premises of public catering enterprises, drinking establishments in Vitebsk and the region were also checked. According to Igor Skarinovich, Deputy Head of the Public Security Police of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Regional Executive Committee, there are no particular claims regarding technical equipment, security provision, and the operation of video systems (where they exist).

On New Year's Eve in Vitebsk, access to Victory Square will be carried out through checkpoints with inspection. It is forbidden to carry weapons and their mock-ups, cutting and piercing objects, pyrotechnics, alcoholic beverages and beer, as well as soft drinks in glass, opaque containers and with a volume of more than half a liter.

— You can bring a thermos with tea or coffee, but in general, there will be cafes on the square where you can also have a snack, — added Igor Alfredovich. — It is understandable that the holiday is accompanied by alcohol consumption, but if a person is not just tipsy, but drunk, which is evident in their behavior, they will be offered to return home. If it is impossible to establish their place of residence or if there is no one to pick them up, and we cannot take them home, they will be sent to a special detention center. People in a state of severe alcohol intoxication or alcohol coma are handled by ambulance services.

All cameras on Victory Square are working, the video signal is transmitted to the duty station, where an officer will monitor the screens. Local cameras and video systems installed by enterprises will be used at other venues.

Similar security measures will be taken in the district centers.

Ekaterina Knyazeva, "Vitebskiye Vesti"