Expanding authority for police forces at commune and ward levels

The Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting is amended to increase penalties for violations. Illustrative photo

Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang has just sent a report to the Ministry of Justice on the appraisal of the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of 10 laws in the field of security and order. These are the laws on: Residence; Citizen identification; Entry, exit, transit, and residence of foreigners in Vietnam; People's Public Security; Fire prevention and fighting; Protection of State secrets; Management and use of weapons, explosives, and supporting tools; Execution of temporary detention and temporary imprisonment; Road traffic order and safety; Handling of administrative violations.

One of the highlights of the draft is the expansion of authority for the police force at the commune and ward levels in many key areas. Accordingly, the commune police can carry out residence registration, handle traffic violations within their locality, as well as handle administrative violations related to public order, residence, primitive weapons, etc. This not only helps reduce the workload for the provincial level, but also shortens the time to process administrative procedures, creating more favorable conditions for people when working with the government.

Notably, in the amendment to the Law on Citizen Identification, the draft has added regulations on personal identification numbers for lifetime use, applicable in all administrative transactions; clarified the authority and procedures for re-issuing and exchanging cards, thereby shortening the time for handling administrative procedures; and integrated personal documents into chip-embedded identification cards.

People can use only one personal identification number to carry out administrative procedures, medical examination and treatment, open bank accounts, drive... without having to present many types of documents as before. It is also proposed to shorten the time for issuing and changing ID cards, creating convenience for people and promoting the development of e -Government .

Meanwhile, regulations on foreign residence and entry and exit have also been amended to be more strict and modern. Authorities will be allowed to exploit data from the National Database to proactively manage foreigners and promptly detect signs of law violations or threats to national security.

Regarding the draft amendment to the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting, it is expected to be revised in the direction of increasing the penalty for violations, while clearly defining the responsibilities of heads of agencies and organizations if serious fires and explosions occur.

The Law on Protection of State Secrets has clarified the criteria for closing/opening secret stamps, avoiding the abuse of illegal secret stamps.

With the Law on Temporary Detention and Imprisonment, the draft adds an independent monitoring mechanism of the prosecutor's office and lawyers, better ensuring the rights of detainees, including the right to contact, receive medical examination and treatment, make complaints and denunciations.

An important reform point is the amendment of the Law on Handling of Administrative Violations, which expands the authority to impose penalties to commune-level police and adds a mechanism to enforce the decision to impose penalties, in order to thoroughly resolve the situation of "suspended penalties" that last for a long time and are not strictly enforced.

MR. PHUONG

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/mo-rong-tham-quyen-cho-luc-luong-cong-an-cap-xa-phuong-post806054.html