Police operations to be consolidated

TALLINN - The Estonian Interior Ministry will reorganize the work of the Estonian police at the start of 2012 by abolishing separate police prefectures, and instead of the four Regional Rescue Centers, two institutions will start working: the Rescue Board and the Emergency Center, reports Postimees. In connection with these changes, the ministry does not rule out cuts to the workforce of the institutions but confirms that there will not be a major wave of redundancies.

The Interior Ministry has completed and sent for approval a draft law according to which the local Rescue Board departments will be merged with the Rescue Board, and Police Prefectures will become Police and Border Guard Board’s regional structural units starting Jan. 1. “In case of possible redundancies, if it is necessary, the decision must be made by Police and Border Guard and Rescue Board leaderships,” an Interior Ministry spokesperson said. “No redundancies are planned among Interior Ministry staff.”

In 2004, the previous 17 Police Prefectures were reorganized into 4 Regional Police Prefectures; then 104 officials of the central organization lost jobs. On Jan. 1, 2010, the Police Board, Central Criminal Police, Security Police, Border Guard Board and Citizenship and Migration Board were merged into the Police and Border Guard Board.