Police officers will be annually evaluated and rated

The protests of the employees of the Ministry of Interior. Photo: Agerpres archive.

Police officers, as many as they will remain in the system after the announced dismissals of 10,000 of them, will be annually evaluated and rated, their remaining in the public safety system depending on the rating they obtained.

This amendment is only one of those brought to the law regarding the Statute of the Police Officer at the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday.

Another change with reference to the modification of the period of professional retraining.

The Chamber of Deputies’ plenum adopted in the meeting on Tuesday the law project to modify the Statute of the Police Officer, which also has as main professional evaluation criteria the fact that the period of professional retraining is made after six months after a layoff decision.

In the debate, the opposition requested the law should be referred to the Commission, as the amendments brought by the government would allow an easier layoff process, request which has been rejected.

Liberal deputy George Scutaru announced that the National Liberal Party did not vote this project and claimed that the parliament majority had voted a law through which Romania would be less safe and crime rate would raise.

Social Democratic Party deputy Aura Vasile claimed that through the concerned law 10,000 police officers and their families would be affected.

In response, the President of the safety commission, Democratic Liberal Party deputy Costică Canacheu said that the law concerned had nothing to do with the restructuring of the Ministry of Interior and that it was two years old.

Democtratic Liberal Party deputy Daniel Oajdea stated that it was not the reduction of the number of police officers that was affecting public safety, but corrupted policemen, who had close connections with criminals and who, through the new law, would be laid off much easier.

Translated by: Manuela Stancu
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University