Executive Committee Meeting: How the Anti-Drug Mechanism Works in the Vitebsk Region and What Problems Exist
This was discussed at a meeting of the regional executive committee on June 28, during which the drug situation in the Vitebsk region and the effectiveness of preventing the deadly disease were analyzed.
As of June 1, 2018, 1035 drug users were registered in the region, including 472 drug addicts. About 70% of them are between 19 and 35 years old. No such cases were identified among adolescents under 15 or among individuals over 50.
With the adoption of strict anti-drug measures introduced by Decree No. 6 of December 28, 2014 "On Urgent Measures to Combat Illicit Drug Trafficking," the drug situation in the country has stabilized, noted Gennady Kazakevich, Head of the Main Department for Drug Control and Human Trafficking Counteraction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Belarus.
This can be judged by the 30% decrease in drug-related crimes compared to 2015 (including an 8.4% decrease compared to the same period in 2017), and by the number of registered drug addicts – 12.8 thousand people (in 2015, there were about 17 thousand). On average, the number of recorded drug overdose cases decreases by 30-40% annually.
– But we should not console ourselves with the successes achieved, as the volume of drugs seized from circulation is constantly increasing, – stated Gennady Kazakevich, supporting his conclusions with statistics: if about 730 kg of drugs and psychotropic substances were seized in the country for the whole of 2017, then more than 700 kg were seized in the first 5 months of 2018.
Since the beginning of the year alone, organized criminal groups have been detected almost 4 times more compared to 2017.
The fact that the situation remains serious is also evidenced by the number of organized criminal groups whose activities in this area are suppressed by law enforcement officers annually. Since the beginning of this year alone, almost 4 times more such groups have been identified compared to 2017.
– This indicates that the organized structure of the criminal business is preserved, – emphasized Gennady Kazakevich. In addition, the police are paying attention to the increasing latency of drug addiction. In other words, to assess the level of drug addiction among the population, the number of drug addicts observed in medical institutions must be multiplied by 7. Gennady Kazakevich recalled that any drug addict, during the period of active use of drugs or psychotropic substances, involves at least 10 people in this process.
Similar trends to the republican ones are observed in the Vitebsk region – a decrease in the number of drug-related crimes, a reduction in the number of registered drug addicts. According to Elena Martynova, the chief physician of the Vitebsk Regional Clinical Center for Psychiatry and Narcology, the incidence of drug addiction in the region has decreased by 40.9%.
Chief Physician of the Center for Psychiatry and Narcology: "In recent years, we have practically not registered new patients."
The number of people consuming drugs, including minors, is decreasing by 32.7%.
– In recent years, we have practically not registered new patients, and those who replenish the lists are those who have previously been under our observation, – explained Elena Martynova.
All this has become possible thanks to the systematic work established in the region and the effective interaction of all interested organizations and departments, believes the chief physician of the center.
According to Dmitry Rezenkov, the first deputy head of the Department of Internal Affairs of the Regional Executive Committee, over five months, the number of crimes related to illicit drug trafficking has decreased by 31% to 175. The Vitebsk region police are concentrating their efforts and resources on exposing the criminal activities of drug dealers. As a result, 80 such crimes have been identified since the beginning of the year.
Law enforcement officers have suppressed the activities of three online stores used to sell smoking mixtures. Based on materials from the analytical intelligence unit, 33 criminal cases have been initiated.
It has been possible to almost completely block the supply of particularly dangerous psychoactive substances and drug analogues into the Vitebsk region.
More than 75 kg of dangerous substances have been seized from illegal circulation, of which marijuana accounts for about 97%. The proportion of other drugs, including psychoactive substances, is minimal.
– This indicates that thanks to the effective measures of all organizations and departments, it has been possible to almost completely block the supply of particularly dangerous psychoactive substances and drug analogues into the Vitebsk region, which was our key task within the framework of implementing Decree No. 6, – emphasized Dmitry Rezenkov.
An analysis of the category of persons committing crimes related to drug trafficking shows that citizens aged 31-45 are mainly involved in the drug business.
Teachers and doctors are engaged in preventive work along with law enforcement officers. The Vitebsk Regional Clinical Center for Psychiatry and Narcology updates the electronic database of drug-using patients monthly, which is provided to the drug control department.
Since the beginning of the year, the media have created almost five hundred materials of various genres on this topic. Methodological guides on the external signs of drug use and the medico-social consequences of this phenomenon have been sent to the main department for education of the regional executive committee to inform the police about known facts of illegal actions in the sphere of drug consumption.
Thus, according to Dmitry Khoma, head of the main department for education of the regional executive committee, at the end of 2017, psychosocial surveys were conducted in educational institutions to identify individuals predisposed to the formation of chemical dependence. Approximately 58.5 thousand students participated in the surveys, and the data obtained were used in preventive work.
Sherstnev: "My firm stance is unchanged - there should be no topic of drugs in educational institutions at all"
– My firm stance is unchanged – there should be no topic of drugs in educational institutions at all, – emphasized **Chairman of the Regional Executive Committee Nikolai Sherstnev**. – At the same time, the effectiveness of identifying this negative phenomenon at early stages, as well as its prevention, depends precisely on the professionalism of teachers, and one of the main tools for this should be the organization of employment for students.
The police are tasked with coordinating the work of all prevention entities. Monitoring the quality of anti-drug work conducted locally has shown that there are miscalculations in planning, formalism, and low executive discipline.
Shortcomings in information and propaganda work are characteristic of most regions of the oblast
According to Dmitry Rezenkov's assessment, shortcomings in conducting information and propaganda work among the population are common to most regions of the oblast.
This was also noted by **Deputy Prosecutor General of the Republic of Belarus Alexey Stuk**, who participated in the meeting. Reducing the level of drug addiction in society, especially among youth, requires the implementation of a set of medical, social, cultural, educational, enlightenment, legal, and other measures aimed at identifying and eliminating the facts and conditions for drug use and related crimes.
At the same time, the work of prevention entities is still not effective enough, noted Alexey Stuk, adding that one should not relax, as a high level of drug consumption persists in the country.
The Prosecutor's Office notes a downward trend in the number of individuals convicted for illegal drug trafficking after the adoption of Decree No. 6. At the same time, while recognizing the need for strict measures to combat this evil, the Deputy Prosecutor General reminded that when determining the measure of responsibility for an act committed, one should see the person behind the problem.