Latvian State Police to rotate some of its top brass

Chief of Latvian State Police Armands Ruks has decided to perform rotations in the Economic Crimes Enforcement Department, Organised Crime Enforcement Department and Department of Criminology, as State Police confirm.
Ruks explains this decision «considering the need to ensure the fulfilment of strategically important daily and future tasks assigned to the structural units», as well as the fact that the current heads of those departments have been in their posts for a very long time.
After 1 January 2022 the chief of the Economic Crimes Enforcement Department Pēteris Bauska will be rotated to the position of chief of Organised Crime Enforcement Department until 5 December 2024.
Bauska remained in this post for six years, «providing and developing professional work of the department and prevention of economic crimes, including money laundering prevention. His knowledge and experience will contribute a great deal to his new post», police report.
The current chief of the Department of Criminology Pauls Krūmiņš will be rotated to the post of chief of the Economic Crimes Enforcement Department until 4 April 2022.
His experience working in different posts in the past, including six years leading the Department of Criminology, his personal qualities and experience leading different EU projects will help improve investigation capacity, attract highly-qualified personnel and train existing personnel, as well as promote provision of EU financing towards sectors supervised by the Economic Crimes Enforcement Unit, says the chief of State Police.
Col. Andrejs Siņavins, who is currently the chief of the Organised Crime Prevention Department, will be rotated to the position of chief of the Department of Criminology.
The colonel’s previous experience in leading the Department of Criminology, as well as the knowledge and experience acquired leading the Organised Crime Prevention Department for seven years, will help improve the quality of forensic procedures performed by the Department of Criminology and contribute to the criminology institutions’ reformation process and investigations in general, the police announcement explains.
«After studying the qualifications required for the aforementioned posts, as well as the experience and respect commanded by heads of the aforementioned departments among their peers, their personal qualities, professional experience and potential contribution to their new posts, I am confident they are a perfect pick to lead those departments,» said Ruks.