The Military Police are short-handed when it comes to how broad their duties are, admitted Chairman of Saeima’s Defence, Internal Affairs and Corruption Prevention Committee Raimonds Bergmanis, whose committee on Tuesday, the 4th of February, was presented a report from the Military Police on activities.
The main problem identified during the meeting is that the Military Police are short-staffed to be able to perform the duties entrusted to this institution. For example, the lawyers of the Military Police have duties that are related not only to professional military service, but also with reservists and troops engaged in the National Defence Service.
The amount of work will only increase in the future, as the troop training system is gradually becoming more expansive and the number of troops in the National Defence Service keeps increasing. This means the number of possible violations may go up, said the head of the committee, reminding that the Military Police perform operational activities and fill out documents concerning administrative violations.
“Considering the amount of functions and increasing volumes of work, I am in awe how MP are able to deal with their duties, considering their existing capacity,” stressed Bergmanis, reminding that MP have to perform duties in Riga and elsewhere in the country.
The meeting also touched on the issue of the infrastructure that does not correspond to the current situation of the MP, as well as the improvement of cooperation with other institutions, such as the State Police and the Prosecutor’s Office.
Bergmanis said at the meeting that when he held the position of Minister of Defence several years ago, there were various incidents in the department of the industry. He pointed out that changes in regulatory enactments were adopted at the time, but it appears from today’s meeting of the commission that, despite this, the risk of incidents still exists. Therefore, the commission will ask the Ministry of Defence for clarification that is still needed to prevent various incidents.
After listening to the report from the management of Military Police, the committee concluded that the overall number of violations committed in the army is very small. However, there are certain trends with troops of the National Defence Service. According to Bergmanis, there is logic to this situation – because there are more people in the army, there potential for violations is higher as well. Similar trends exist in Latvia’s neighbouring countries. If the capacity of the MP were wider and the checks even more extensive, then the number of violations would probably increase, Bergmanis judged.
The management of the MP has recognized that currently it is possible to recruit young specialists of sufficient quality, but the MP is thinking about admitting troops from the National Defence Service into its ranks. In times of crisis, they could serve as a reserve, Bergmanis said.
Military Police has a combat support unit. It ensures the protection of the President of the State, the protection of invited foreign officials and representatives of international organizations, accompanies military columns and guards military cargoes, prevents and stops violations of the law in military units and guarded facilities, conducts pre-trial investigations and ensures security at the sites of military events.