State audit examines police departments

  • 2002-09-19
  • Aleksei Gunter
TALLINN

Regional police departments around the country must clean up their bookkeeping, according to the State Audit Office.

Auditors reviewed police departments in 15 regions and found discrepancies in the books of almost every one.

The audit was the first of police stations since Estonia regained independence in 1991 ahead of the Soviet collapse.

In Ida-Viru county, social tax payments at the department did not match records at the tax board, leaving a gap of nearly 700,000 kroons (44,900 euros).

In Tallinn, police officers were rented state-owned flats in the city center for just 0.70 kroons per square meter, a practice depriving the state of millions in revenue.

Several departments could not account for guns. In Harju county, 11 guns were declared stolen or lost over the past decade.

Sven Soiver, spokesman for the State Audit Office, said none of the discrepancies was cause for too much concern, but he said department heads are required to rectify all bookkeeping mistakes.

"Our practice has shown that the first audit always finds something wrong in the accounting practices, but in the next few years, things tend to get better," Soiver said. "We gave several recommendations, and it would be an overstatement to say that police cannot cope with financial management."

Recommendations are not mandatory, but department heads must fix all mistakes.

Departments also need a unified accounting system with using one type of software.

The Estonian Parliament OK'd audits in state institutions in January 2000.

The State Audit Office, established in 1990, assesses the performance and regularity of public administration units to provide information to the Parliament, government and taxpayers.