Estonia studies drunk driving - of cops

  • 2000-08-10
  • Laura Bailey
TALLINN - Police leaders met in Tallinn two weeks ago to discuss improving discipline on the force after a police officer who was driving drunk and without a license hit and killed a woman, pushing the number of deaths caused by allegedly drunk policemen up to five in the last nine months.

Officers from each of Estonia's precincts attended the meeting on July 27, but the department has not announced any concrete proposals for enforcing discipline.

"Recent events are showing that the discipline is not yet at the level it should be," said Ralf Palo, assistant head of police who led the meeting while the Police Board director, Harry Tue, was away on vacation.

The latest accident caused by a policeman happened when Tartu junior police inspector, Aleksei Kondrasev, struck and killed a mother of two who was standing near her Volkswagen van on the side of the road on the night of July 25.

The police precinct in Tartu also held special meetings to discuss the accident where it was said that the precinct will have stricter rules for police officers both on and off duty, said Tartu police spokesman Peeter Rehema.

He did not discuss the exact changes to be made or how such rules will be enforced other than to say that police psychologists would begin working this month to improve police morale and behavior in Tartu.

In the last nine months six police officers have caused major auto accidents, said spokesman for the Interior Ministry, Ivar Soone.

Four were caused by officers who were driving drunk. The fifth death resulted when a speeding officer hit a woman while driving 100 km per hour around a corner in Tallinn last April.

And another death occurred in mid-July when an off-duty officer shot a man who would not move his car from a walking promenade.

Less than 100 deaths have been caused by drunk driving in the past nine months, according to the Statistical Office of Estonia. Four of them were caused by police officers who were driving while drunk.

Soone said drinking is not a problem within the police force, but he did say the number of accidents lately has been high.

"It should be much lower because the police are an example to others," commented Soone.

"We are concerned about this, and we are trying to do all that is possible to avoid those incidents," said Soone.

At the same time, Soone said the Interior Ministry can't prevent every accident from happening, especially with 3,800 police officers under its watch.

"We would be very happy if the number were zero," he said, noting that out of 3,800 police officers the number is not so many. "We can't control everyone."

Soone said four of the six policemen who caused accidents in the last year were fired, while the other two were given a reprimand letter and either demoted or not given the yearly raise.

One of the officers still on the force after causing an accident is former police commissioner Margu Kotter who rammed his speeding Mazda into a lamp post last March.

"These type of accidents are very shocking to the police officers themselves," said police spokesman Indrek Raudjalg about the latest deadly accident. "When these things shock police officers, they probably will think twice."For those who have discipline problems, Raudjalg said the job itself may be a cause. "Police officers' salaries aren't very big, and the job is very stressing. The possibilities of relaxing are not very good."

"These kinds of things drive people to drink," said Raudjalg, adding that "probably this is one of the reasons why these kinds of things have happened."

Raudjalg said the police force hopes not only to improve discipline of the police officers working now, but also that such problems will lessen as more young people become interested in the profession.

When Estonia became independent in 1991, the police force had to start from "ground zero" with a great deal of new officers, he said. But, few people wanted to work as police officers five years ago because the job was stressful and the pay low.

"Now we can be more selective," he said, explaining that in the past two years enrollment rates have been up at the police academy, and there has been a greater interest among young people.

In addition to having a better selection of officers, Raudjalg said police will receive more mental support as the police department was already planning to increase its number of psychologists before the accidents occurred.

As to the specific steps the police force will take to improve discipline and prevent further tragedies from happening, Palo would not comment. He said the department would announce the plans to the public after some further discussions and analysis.