A meeting of the leadership of the law enforcement agencies of the Vitebsk, Pskov and Smolensk regions was held in Vitebsk
Cooperation between the border regions of the two countries has been ongoing for several years, with certain groundwork and agreements in place. Annually, through the joint efforts of police officers and law enforcement officials, a number of crimes are solved. For example, the detention of a resident of the Smolensk region who was transporting 649 grams of heroin (considered a large shipment), or the apprehension of a Belarusian citizen who was stealing cars in the neighboring country. The existence of effective ties between the law enforcement agencies of Belarus and Russia is undoubtedly a positive development. Nevertheless, these ties must not only be maintained at a proper level but also developed and improved. This was the subject of discussion during a working meeting of officials from the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee of the Republic of Belarus and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation for the Pskov and Smolensk regions.
As reported to journalists during a press conference by Igor Evseev, Head of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, law enforcement officials addressed the following issues: combating terrorism and extremism, criminal car business, ensuring road safety in the border territory, and studying the experience of Vitebsk residents in maintaining law and order during mass events.
-- The criminal car business is a scourge for us, -- noted Boris Govorun, Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Directorate for the Pskov Region. -- As many as 124 vehicles have been stolen from the Pskov region alone. I will not be mistaken if I say that some of these cars were sent to Belarus.
Focusing on road traffic safety, Boris Sergeyevich reported that special leaflets will be available at border gas stations in the Pskov region for Belarusian citizens, explaining the nuances of Russian traffic regulations. Furthermore, next year, in accordance with the reached agreement, an international competition of professional skills will be held for traffic police officers from three regions.
In addition, more than a dozen awards were presented by the guests to the law enforcement officers of Pridvinye, who have proven themselves excellently during joint Belarusian-Russian operations. It is gratifying that among the awards are two badges "Best Employee of the Special Police Unit", which are awarded for special merits. In our region, they were awarded to representatives of the PPSM regiment of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee – police lieutenant colonel Sergey Gritsenko and police senior lieutenant Vitaly Kushner.