site.btaPublic's Dissatisfaction with Interior Ministry's Work Remained as Last Year - NGO

The public's dissatisfaction with the Interior Ministry's work remained as it was in the previous year, Radostina Yakimova, director of the Society and Safety Foundation, said in an interview with BTA.

The Foundation's mission is to transform the Ministry of Interior and to be a transparent and open institution which is taking into consideration the real needs of the citizens of the Republic of Bulgaria while is providing a high quality of security service.

Nothing was done to improve the work and motivation of the Ministry's employees. Politicians made no effort to consult or involve citizens in the process of planning security policies, she added. She said the system continued to exploit its employees and be ineffective in terms of the "security" service it provides.

The full text of the interview follows:

What were the most difficult moments for the Ministry of Interior in 2023?

The answer to this question should be in several aspects. I could answer about the difficulties faced by the citizens and employees of the Ministry of Interior. The main difficulties for them are related to another wasted year, in which not only was the sustainable change or the so-called 'reform' in the department not initiated, but even talking about it stopped.

In 2023 we saw a string of elections, protests, natural disasters, illegal migration, crime, but the subject of the Interior Ministry only became interesting again when there was an incident involving officers or police "violence."

Citizen's dissatisfaction remained as it was the previous year. Nothing was done to improve the performance and motivation of the officers. Politicians made no effort to consult or involve citizens in the security policy planning process. Overall, the system continued to exploit its employees and to be ineffective in terms of the 'security' service it delivers. Unfortunately, the political use of the Ministry of Interior and the officers in the system is a vicious practice that continued in 2023.

The leadership changed completely, there were also changes at the lower levels. Do you see this as positive or rather a negative?

It is still too early to make such an assessment, especially since these are people who are conduits of a policy that does not bring any change. We are seeing the continued inertia of a system that is led by new people. Leadership changes at all levels are common practice followed by all ruling parties and coalitions. On the one hand, this is logical, because the people who manage the staff and processes at the level of regional directorates or precincts should be trusted, but against the background of continuous elections and change of government, this is wearing out and throwing out of the system many quality professionals. And in this sense, there is an inexplicable use of employees who have qualities and potential and who are replaced before they have a chance to show whether they are good managers or not. The training of managers is a very serious problem. Nobody prepares them for these positions because there is no time and there are many tasks to be carried out.

There is no talk of motivation systems in the Ministry of Interior, there is no mental health program that is applicable to all employees. Managers at all levels are not trained and cannot effectively manage people, processes and content. Politicizing the system exacerbates these problems and reduces them to the lowest possible levels - namely the police officer and firefighter, who are subject to double pressure and duress.

On the one hand, they face the strain of their work, which is exhausting and has a long-lasting negative effect on the mental and physical health of each and every officer. On the other hand are the problems in the system of which they are victims. These are inefficiency, unprepared management staff, lack of funds and supplies to meet basic material and living needs, the problem of servicing police vehicles, the problem of professional training and preparation. Against the background of these problems, no matter how many and what kind of personnel changes are made, they will only serve the interests of the government and not those of the Bulgarian citizens.

What did the Ministry of Interior manage to reform in 2023?

Unfortunately nothing. We see as a positive sign the lack of change at the moment, because the rather unsuccessful reforms and failed attempts at reform, carried out by previous interior ministers so far, were provoked by personal ambitions. In most cases, they are accompanied by a serious dose of incompetence and ignorance about the Interior Ministry system on the part of the "reformers" and a lack of willingness to investigate and solve the real problems in the system and to increase efficiency.

And what has it failed to reform?

It may be surprising, but according to our understanding, there has been no reform in the Ministry of Interior in the last 34 years. We have seen restructuring, mechanical removals and other experiments, but no reforms. Unfortunately, what has failed to change in the understanding and assessment of politicians and people in positions of power is the need for a complete change in the approach to reform in the Ministry of Interior. Despite the change of generations, despite the change of political context and environment, the approach to security reforms and policies is archaic.

It is still believed that citizens have no place in security policies, not only because they do not understand, but also because they are a threat to public order. The need to adopt a public order and security strategy is still not understood. Or perhaps it is understood, but there is no desire for it, because when you have a strategy, citizens have the tools to follow up on changes, what has been done and what has not been done, and to ask questions.

The Ministry is still a closed system, and our attempts to track what and where the funds from fines and penalties imposed by it are going are frustratingly unsuccessful. Half of the data important to us and the system is still not collected or is classified. There are still no effective prevention policies and no indicators to measure the preventive work of officers. Unfortunately, the Ministry of the Interior only pretends to be in 2023, but in terms of the training of management staff, the attitude towards citizens and the democratisation of the department, it is at its level from 1990.

What are the most important tasks that the Ministry of Interior should start working with in 2024?

There must be a radically new approach to budget planning and security policies in the Interior Ministry, and they must be tailored to the real needs of citizens. A system for evaluating the performance of officers must be created, which must include a 'prevention' component, because this is one of the most important things. Work should begin and a public order and security strategy should be drawn up by the end of the year, with a horizon of 2030, thanks to which a long-term vision of policies to ensure public order and security for Bulgarian citizens will be created. This will show what the change in the system is that will be worked for over the next 5 years, regardless of the type and composition of the ruling majority.

It will also be, above all, a tool to stop experimentation in and with the system and reduce political use. Will it happen? We hope so, and although we are not optimistic, we will not stop working for it, because it is the only right way to guarantee the security of Bulgarian citizens, to increase trust in the institution of the Ministry of Interior and its officers, and to create tools for active citizen participation in policy planning.