Police Unionists Reject Idea of Active Officers Acting as Gendarmes

Bratislava, May 26 (TASR) - The Police Labour Union rejects the idea of active police officers acting as gendarmes and requests the removal of this provision from the draft of the relevant legislation, TASR learnt from a social media post of the unionists on Monday. „The Police Labour Union strongly disagrees with the idea that members of the Police Corps should simultaneously serve as members of the Gendarmerie. We consider such a solution to be a step backward — it weakens the functionality of basic units, creates legal and power-related ambiguities, and goes against the fundamental principles of the organization of the state's security forces," reads the post. As the unionists pointed out, the Police Corps is already understaffed, and transferring police officers into structures under the Ministry of Defense could threaten the preservation of public order and safety. The unionists also see this as interference with the powers of the Interior Ministry and a violation of the principles of the Council of Europe’s Declaration on the Police. mf