The results of the supervisory authority's work for 2019 were summarized at the board of the Vitebsk Regional Prosecutor's Office
A collegium meeting on the results of the department's work for 2019 was held under the chairmanship of the Prosecutor of the Vitebsk Region Vadim Sushchinsky with the participation of prosecutors of cities and districts, the Vitebsk Transport Prosecutor, heads of structural divisions of the regional prosecutor's office, and other prosecutorial staff.
The event was attended by the Deputy Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus Dmitry Gora, the Assistant to the President of the Republic of Belarus – Inspector for the Vitebsk Region Anatoly Linevich, a deputy of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus of the seventh convocation for the Senno Electoral District No. 30 – Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee on National Security – Alexander Dubov.
In his speech, the regional prosecutor noted that the past year was full of organizational and practical measures related to strengthening legality and public safety.
Much has been done to ensure law and order and fulfill the Head of State's requirements on combating corruption and economic crime, and protecting the constitutional rights of citizens.
Special attention was paid to increasing the effectiveness of supervision over the legality of operational and service activities of law enforcement agencies, compliance with legality at the pre-trial proceedings stages, and ensuring the quality of state prosecution.
The work carried out by prosecutors jointly with other law enforcement and state bodies generally ensures the maintenance of an adequate level of legality and law and order in the region. The crime rate per 10,000 population was 83.7, which is lower than the national average (93.2).
However, in 2019, a negative trend of an increase in the total number of crimes emerged in the region (a total of 9,847 crimes were registered, which is 172 more crimes than in 2018).
Priority areas in combating crime in the region remain the prevention of crimes against life (the number of murders with attempted murders increased by 25%), mercenary crimes (the number of registered
extortion by 114.3%, robbery - by 20%, fraudulent actions - by 20.7%), as well as overcoming drunkenness and alcoholism (2191 crimes were committed while intoxicated).At the same time, in a number of regions, prosecutorial supervision has not been proactive and does not have the proper impact on crime prevention (Shumilinsky and Liozno districts).
The effectiveness of work on preventing new crimes by persons with a criminal record in Vitebsk, Shumilinsky, Liozno, Senno, Sharkovshchina districts, where a high level of recidivism is noted, needs to be improved. In many regions, issues related to ensuring employment for convicted persons and their commission of crimes while intoxicated remain problematic.
The issues of ensuring legality in the work of inquiry and investigation bodies, and crime detection rates must be under the constant control of prosecutors. Despite the improvement in the overall crime detection rates in criminal investigation (67.5% - which is the best result in the republic), a decrease in detection rates has been allowed in individual regions.
Despite the measures taken to supervise the enforcement of laws at the pre-trial stage and coordinate the activities of inquiry and preliminary investigation bodies, problems with the quality of inquiry bodies' verification materials and the investigation of criminal cases by investigative units continue to remain relevant.
Deputy Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus Dmitry Gora focused the prosecutors' attention on the issues of effective fight against corruption, emphasizing the significance of the preventive component in this area. He separately addressed the issues of the quality of consideration of citizens' appeals and compliance with sectoral legislation by local authorities and organizations.
Despite the measures taken, the problem of deaths from external factors remains relevant. The number of child deaths has increased, including as a result of murder within the family. As a result of industrial accidents in 2019
20 people died, 76 individuals sustained severe injuries. In this regard, the regional prosecutor demanded an intensification of preventive work in this area.Prosecutors' attention has also been focused on exercising constant control over the timeliness of wage payments, especially at agro-industrial complex enterprises, and the payment of mandatory insurance contributions.
Additional measures must be taken to ensure law and order during mass events and the election campaign to be held this year.
Anatoly Linevich, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Belarus – Inspector for the Vitebsk Region, drew the prosecutors' attention to interaction with the region's local authorities and the public's attitude towards the supervisory body.
Alexander Dubov, Deputy of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus of the seventh convocation for the Senno Electoral District No. 30 – Deputy Chairman of the Standing Commission on National Security – thanked the employees of the Vitebsk Region Prosecutor's Office for their many years of joint work, while orienting them towards further effective activities in the field of supervision over the enforcement of legislation and the legality of legal acts.
"A great deal of work has been done in the past year, and there are a number of aspects that require improvement. The prosecutor's offices of the Vitebsk Region are a strong team that will cope with the set tasks," – summarized the Deputy Prosecutor General.
At the meeting of the collegium of the Vitebsk Region Prosecutor's Office, tasks and specific measures for the future were defined, the goal of which is to strengthen legality and law and order, eradicate corruption and corrupt manifestations, and protect the rights and legitimate interests of citizens.
Senior Prosecutor of the Organizational and Control Department of the Regional Prosecutor's Office Vitalia Zhurba