On Friday, 15 October, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Justice Jānis Bordāns chaired the fist forum of the senior officials of the Crime Prevention Council - the heads of law enforcement authorities.
At the first meeting of the forum, its participants discussed the improvement of the education system for law enforcement officials and expressed united support for the proposal developed by the Ministry of the Interior to form a long-term consortium “Internal Security Academy” (ISA). The Ministry of the Interior, the State Police College, Riga Stradiņš’ University and the University of Latvia would participate in its establishment.
The consortium would prepare specialists for the needs of home affairs institutions, envisaging a responsive and high-quality education offer, the establishment of a training infrastructure corresponding to the specific requirements of the home affairs system and the provision of professional pedagogical staff.
In the discussion, J. Bordāns expressed his conviction that without such an educational institution, effective, professional training of professional investigators and operatives for the fight against crime is inconceivable.
The participants of the forum also assessed the most important factors influencing the length of proceedings. Possible solutions to reduce the unjustified absence of witnesses and accused persons at court hearings were discussed. It was concluded that the application of fines for unjustified absence from a court hearing should be made more effective and the possibility of providing for new coercive measures in the law that would facilitate the appearance of witnesses and accused in court should be assessed. This assessment will be carried out by the Ministry of Justice.