Interior Minister: Extensive work to be carried out this year to  complete formation of Police Guard 

ArmInfo.  This year will require  extensive work to complete the formation process of  the Police Guard is to be carried out this year, as stated by Minister of Internal Affairs Arpine Sargsyan during  discussions of the report on the implementation of the country's 2024 state budget in the National  Assembly on June 4.

According to her, the implementation of this program will require   attracting significant financial resources, which will be addressed  within the framework of the country's 2025 state budget. The Minister  also pointed out the certification process for the department's  employees, which serves two important tasks - improving  qualifications and receiving a decent salary. Efforts are also  underway to increase the participation of women in the law  enforcement system. Currently, a group of women are undergoing  training courses at the Ministry's training center. Sargsyan noted  that the reforms in the system are already yielding positive results,  as evidenced by the statistics. Last year, 420 kg of narcotics were  seized, which is 202 kg more than in 2023. Active efforts in this  direction are also ongoing this year, with 173 kg of drugs already  seized. Additionally,  1,579 weapons were seized or voluntarily  surrendered last year, marking a 10.7% increase from 2023. In  comparison to 2023, there was a decrease of 299 cases in the number  of road accidents  in 2024, and the number of victims on the  country's roads decreased by 49 cases. 

The Minister noted that the RA government has already issued a  positive opinion on the draft law, which aims to raise the age limit  for police service. Particularly, the provision allowing individuals  under the age of 35 to join the police is being removed. According to  Sargsyan, removing  this requirement will result in a higher number  of applicants for police service. Sargsyan also emphasized the  importance of not mandating drug testing for minors, stating that  this process should be voluntary.