Ministry of Internal Affairs` Police Guard starts working in Armenia

ArmInfo.  Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan participated in the activation ceremony of the country's Ministry of Internal Affairs' Police Guard.

According to the government press service, Pashinyan, accompanied by  Interior Minister Arpine Sargsyan, inspected the Police Guard's  technical equipment and new weapons that meet international  standards.  "Today we are laying the foundation of an entirely new  service, and this is an important point. In other words, we are not  transforming the police forces into a police guard; today we have  created a police guard.  Of course, the path and history we have  traveled remain with us, and they are valuable to us, but starting  today, we are opening a new page in history and expect the police  guard to become a qualitatively new service for the Republic of  Armenia, its citizens, and the servicemen themselves. And, of course,  this is an important stage in the reform of the police and the system  of the Ministry of Internal Affairs," Pashinyan said, addressing the  guard's officers.

The police guard, one of the four main areas of police activity, will  contribute to strengthening Armenia's internal security system  through a more targeted set of tools. With new weapons and trained  personnel that meet international standards, the police guard will be  responsible for maintaining public order and ensuring public safety.  The police guard will function as a fully-fledged structure, not  being the legal successor to any police department. The main tasks of  the Police Guard are: maintaining public order and ensuring public  safety, protecting critical facilities subject to state protection,  ensuring the safety of special cargo transportation, enforcing the  legal regime during martial law and states of emergency,  participating in the protection of the population in emergency  situations, assisting in ensuring the safety of persons subject to  special state protection, and assisting criminal justice agencies.

"With the establishment of the Police Guard, a new standard for the  use of force will come into force for the first time, consistent with  international standards, including the cases, grounds, and conditions  for the proportionality of the use of physical force, special means,  firearms, and special equipment," the government stated.