The life and health of a person are the highest value, the preservation of which through joint efforts is our task

A coordination meeting on combating crime and corruption in the region was held under the chairmanship of the Prosecutor of the Vitebsk region, Igor Ukrainets.

The agenda included: the effectiveness of the activities of crime prevention entities in preventing deaths from fires, as well as from other external factors.

The discussion was attended by the Deputy Minister of Emergency Situations of the Republic of Belarus Anatoly Dolgolevets, heads of law enforcement agencies of the region, OSVOD, RUP "Vitebskenergo", State Institution "State Energy and Gas Supervision", officials of the regional executive committee, heads of city and district emergency departments, chairmen of city and district executive committees, and prosecutors of cities and districts of the region.

"The problem of people dying in fires, from drowning, suicides, and a number of other causes is relevant for the Vitebsk region. Preventing the deaths of our citizens from external factors is a priority task for the prosecutor's office and all prevention entities. The purpose of the coordination meeting is to develop an effective action plan for all interested services and departments to prevent emergencies in the region and minimize their consequences for the population," said the Prosecutor of the Vitebsk region, opening the meeting.

For reference: in the Vitebsk region in 2020, there was a decrease in the number of deaths from external causes, while an increase in deaths from drowning by 24% and from fires by 24.9% was recorded.

A trend of increasing deaths in fires has also been noted in the current year. For 4 months of the current year, 376 fires (301) were registered in the Vitebsk region. The largest increase in the number of fires occurred in Gorodok, Braslav, Liozno, and other districts. An increase in the number of deaths in fires is also noted in a number of regions of the oblast and the city of Vitebsk.

The results of inspections conducted by prosecutors indicate insufficient measures taken by prevention entities.

at a low level of operation of the entities involved in the process of preventing human deaths from external causes, including emergencies.

Thus, the proper level of interaction between prevention entities has not been achieved in all regions, with significant complaints about the work of inspection commissions, in particular, a low degree of housing inspection for categorized citizens (Orshansky, Polotsky, Beshenkovichsky districts, the city of Vitebsk, the city of Novopolotsk).

There are cases when individuals leading an antisocial lifestyle, abusing alcohol, remain outside the scope of entities included in the commissions due to the non-participation of law enforcement officers in their work.

The absence of representatives from healthcare institutions, energy supply organizations, and housing and communal services workers in the conducted inspections also minimizes the effectiveness of the inspection commissions, as issues within the competence of a specific prevention entity remain unaddressed during the inspection.

The mechanism for informing inspection commissions by social workers providing home care to the most vulnerable categories of citizens (disabled people, lonely elderly people) about the presence of conditions that create a threat to the safety of these citizens needs to be developed.

During the meeting, attention was drawn to the problem of ensuring fire safety in facilities with mass gatherings of citizens, primarily dormitories.

For reference: out of 319 dormitories located in the region, 29 completely lack a fire protection system, and in 23 dormitories, it is in disrepair.

A number of remarks are caused by the work of local authorities in identifying and subsequently including houses meeting the criteria of being vacant or dilapidated in the register within the framework of implementing Decree of the President of the Republic of Belarus No. 357 of 04.09.2018 "On vacant and dilapidated houses"; proper measures for the improvement of the supervised territory in this direction are not being taken.

For a long time, local district executive committees, as well as owners, have not been resolving the issue of taking measures to restrict access of unauthorized persons to

vacant apartments in houses located in agro-towns and villages of Vitebsk, Gorodok, and Liozno districts, where in 2020, fires were recorded in dilapidated vacant properties of the specified category with loss of life.

Work to prevent access to technical rooms of apartment buildings is not organized, which is a condition conducive to the occurrence of fires and crimes.

For reference: in the past period of the current year, 8 fires were recorded in basements of apartment buildings due to access by unauthorized persons, while 8 similar incidents were recorded for the entire past year.

For the Vitebsk region, with the largest "water coverage" indicator in the republic (31% of the total area of the region), issues of preventing citizen deaths from accidents on water are particularly relevant. Mostly, loss of life occurred outside the zones of rescue posts and stations.

It was noted that the number of rescue stations is insufficient, as they do not cover officially certified beaches.

To date, most of the reservoirs where incidents are most frequently recorded do not have the official status of recreation areas and, as a consequence, equipped beaches and rescue stations. Also, the issue of creating departmental rescue posts by lake lessees remains unresolved for a long time.

Within the framework of the meeting, the participants discussed the problem of deaths from alcohol poisoning, in road traffic accidents, and at work.

Based on the discussion, a decision was made, which sets specific tasks, identifies executors and deadlines for improving the effectiveness of work and taking effective measures in the field of prevention and warning of deaths, including children, from external causes.

Information Service
of the Vitebsk Region Prosecutor's Office