'Each commune after the merger has 30 - 60 police officers and 6

On the afternoon of May 27, the National Assembly discussed the draft law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Criminal Procedure Law.

Proposal to establish a regional investigation agency

Delegate Pham Van Hoa proposed establishing a regional investigation agency to replace the district-level investigation agency.

PHOTO: PHAM THANG

Expressing his opinion, delegate Pham Van Hoa ( Dong Thap delegation) agreed with the proposal to allow the chief or deputy chief of commune-level police assigned by the head of the provincial police investigation agency to prosecute and investigate criminal cases with a sentence of up to 7 years in prison occurring in the commune.

Mr. Hoa said that after the district police were abolished, investigation activities at the grassroots level were facing many difficulties. When initiating an investigation or prosecuting a suspect, the case file must be brought to the provincial police to be submitted to the deputy head of the investigation agency for approval.

"After the province was merged, I found it extremely difficult. If something happened in the commune, I had to bring the file to the provincial police. For example, I live in Dong Thap, merged with Tien Giang , the capital is in My Tho, the provincial police will be based in My Tho. So, if an incident happened in Dong Thap, I had to travel hundreds of kilometers to the provincial police to approve the file. Sometimes, after the approval, the incident was over, and the criminals could have escaped," said Mr. Hoa.

The Dong Thap delegation suggested strengthening the investigation activities of the commune police. "Should we organize a regional investigation agency to create a similarity between the investigation, prosecution and trial agencies? Although there may be an increase in staff, I think it will not be much," said Mr. Hoa.

Delegate Hoa said that when organizing a regional investigation agency, there would be no need for investigators at the commune police station, and at the same time create similarities with the regional court and prosecutor's office.

Delegate Nguyen Thi Le (HCMC delegation) also supported this policy to ensure timeliness in handling the case. However, she suggested that it is necessary to carefully review and specifically and strictly regulate the authority of this force, so that it is consistent with the capacity of the commune-level police and ensures real effectiveness in crime prevention and control.

Delegate Nguyen Thi Le suggested that a pilot program should be implemented before nationwide implementation.

PHOTO: PHAM THANG

Ms. Le also suggested that the delegation of authority to the commune-level police must go hand in hand with the minimum capacity, professional and legal qualifications of these investigators. Not only should provincial-level investigators be assigned, but there should also be a training program on professional skills, especially basic investigative skills, evidence collection and evaluation. At the same time, the mechanism for controlling power must be given special attention.

"Perhaps, we should consider a cautious implementation roadmap, possibly piloting in some areas with conditions before widely applying it," said Ms. Le.

Not every commune has only one investigator.

From practice, delegate Nguyen Thanh Sang (HCMC delegation) said that the National Assembly should support because it is about to organize a two-level local government.

"If you go from a commune to a province in a far area, you have to travel all day, but when something happens, it has to happen quickly and immediately. When something happens, you can't wait at the top, there has to be a professional force on the spot," said Mr. Sang, adding that with case files that are classified as confidential or higher, it is not always possible to ask for opinions and approval using information technology. Meanwhile, to approve an indictment or investigation order, it is necessary to have a file.

The Ho Chi Minh City delegation also said that with the planned force organization plan, investigators at the commune police will be professional investigators from the provincial and district police, so they can fully meet the demand.

"This is a professional investigation force that exercises the authority assigned by the head of the investigation agency," Mr. Sang stated.

Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Procuracy Nguyen Huy Tien said that after the merger, each commune will have 6-10 investigators out of a total of 30-60 commune police officers depending on the area.

PHOTO: GIA HAN

Explaining further, Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Procuracy Nguyen Huy Tien said that adding the authority of the chief and deputy chief of the commune police to be investigators and prosecutors is a practical requirement. Because after the end of the district police, the actual investigation activities are "extremely entangled".

He said this was the first time an investigation force had been organized at the commune level. Previously, the commune police were only assigned a few initial tasks.

Agreeing with the delegates' opinion on the need to strengthen the capacity of the communal police force when assigning the authority to investigate and prosecute cases, Mr. Tien said that the number of investigators in the communal police force will be strengthened from the provincial and district levels.

"According to report No. 1679 of the Ministry of Public Security, each commune will have 30 - 40 police officers, even in special areas such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, there may be 50 - 60 police officers. The number of investigators will be from 6 - 7 or 8 - 10 investigators," said Mr. Tien.

According to the Chief Justice of the Supreme People's Procuracy, the draft law only stipulates that intermediate-level investigators or higher, who are deputy and chief of commune police, are allowed to exercise certain powers directly authorized by the head of the provincial-level investigation agency through law.

"This guy was assigned to be an investigator at the commune police station, not just one investigator at the commune. I report to reassure delegates," said Mr. Tien.

Thanhnien.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/moi-xa-sau-sap-nhap-co-30-60-cong-an-6-10-dieu-tra-vien-185250527161148785.htm