Law Enforcement Services of Belarus

Read the following text. Following the title of the text brainstorm words you expect to find in it. Write the vocabulary list of possible words that you could find in that text. Draw a vocabulary spider gram (mind map). Add any new words you find in the text.

Make sure you understand the meaning of the following words and word-combinations:

Law Enforcement Services

state law enforcement authorities

to ensure public security

unlawful encroachments

maintenance of public order

protection of property

prevention, detection and suppression of crimes

tracing wanted suspects

tracing missing people

organization of execution of punishment

to serve a jail sentence and other penal measures

Law Enforcement Services of Belarus

Law Enforcement Services are state law enforcement authorities aiming at combating crime, maintenance of public order and ensuring public security in accordance with the tasks assigned to them by the present Law and other legal acts of the Republic of Belarus.

Law Enforcement Services form part of the system of ensuring national security in the Republic of Belarus.

The main tasks of Law Enforcement Services shall comprise the following:

protection of life, health, honour, dignity, rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of the citizens of the Republic of Belarus, foreign citizens and stateless persons (further, unless otherwise stated – citizens) from criminal and other unlawful encroachments; ensuring their personal safety and safety of their property, protection of rights and legitimate interests of organizations from criminal and other unlawful encroachments within the scope of Law Enforcement Services’ power;
protection of public and national interests from criminal and other unlawful encroachments, maintenance of public order and ensuring public security;
protection of property from criminal and other unlawful encroachments;
prevention, detection and suppression of crimes and administrative offences, conduct of inquiry on a criminal case, carrying on an administrative lawsuit within the scope of their powers;
tracing wanted suspects, whose location is unknown, people, who flee from authorities conducting criminal proceedings, fugitives from justice, missing people and others in cases established by legal acts of the Republic of Belarus; identification of offenders and administratively responsible people within the scope of Law Enforcement Services’ power;
organization of execution of punishment, serving a jail sentence and other penal measures, disciplinary actions within the scope of Law Enforcement Services’ power;
participation in national policy implementation concerning citizenship, migration and national register;
assistance, within the scope of Law Enforcement Services’ power on terms and in order established by legislation of the Republic of Belarus, to citizens, state authorities, public associations and other organizations in the implementation of their rights and duties.

Other tasks can be assigned to Law Enforcement Services by legal acts of the Republic of Belarus.

General direction of Law Enforcement Services is exercised by the President of the Republic of Belarus as well as the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus within the authority delegated to it by the President of the Republic of Belarus.

Direct supervision of Law Enforcement Services is exercised by the Minister of Internal Affairs.

In its very general view the structure of the law-enforcement services of Belarus can be represented in the following way:

Criminal Police
Central Department of Criminal Investigation
Central Department for Combatting Economic Crimes
Department for Drug Control and Trafficking in Human Beings Combatting
Bureau of Day-to-Day Information Service
Public Security Police
Central Department for Law and Order Ensuring and Prevention of Crimes
Department of State Traffic Police
Department of Daily On-Duty Service
Central Department of Internal Security
Central Department of Controlling and Auditing
Central Department for Combatting Organized Crime and Corruption

Headquarters

International Cooperation Department
Department of State Secrets Protection
Department of Day-to-Day Investigation Activity
Department of Citizenship and Migration
Department for Execution of Judgments
Department of Finance and Logistics
INTERPOL National Central Bureau of Belarus
Department of Information and Public Relations
Department of High-Tech Crimes Detection (Department "K")
Educational Institutions
Regional divisions
Central Department of Internal Affairs of Minsk City Executive Committee.

Questions to discuss:

What are the aims of the state law enforcement authorities of the Republic of Belarus?
What are the tasks of the state law enforcement authorities of the Republic of Belarus?
Who exercises the general direction of law enforcement services of the Republic of Belarus?
Who exercises supervision of law enforcement services of the Republic of Belarus?
What is the structure of the law-enforcement services of Belarus?

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Activities:

Study the information about the countries with the lowest crime level. What is a special feature of crime statistics of each country in the list? Generalize about the reasons for these types of crimes dominating there.

Top 5 Countries with the Lowest Crime Rates

Switzerland

Switzerland is known for its low crime rate. The murder rate there in 2014 was 0.49 per 100,000 people, the country’s lowest rate since Switzerland started keeping those statistics in the 1980s. That low number is despite a population increase from 6.4 million to 8.1 million.

Total offenses registered in 2014 numbered 526,066, with about half of those being committed by foreigners, many of which were theft, including vehicle theft. There were 556 reported rapes in 2014, which represented a three percent decrease.

Singapore

Widely regarded to be the safest country in Asia, Singapore has one of the world’s lowest murder rates (0.3 per 100,000), and violent crime is rare there. A report by the Singapore Police Force stated that there were 175 violent crimes committed in the first half of 2015, a decrease from 315 over the same period in 2014. Statistics for drug crimes also are low, as Singapore is known for its notoriously harsh drug laws. There is an increase in online scams and credit-card fraud.

Iceland

Iceland has been named the world’s most peaceful county by the Global Peace Index, because of its low crime rate, lack of armed forces and political stability. It has one of the world’s lowest murder rates, with just 26 murders being reported from 2000 to October of 2014. Rape is a concern in Iceland, with a 2013 study claiming that of 189 cases of rape reported rapes in 2008 and 2009, just 21 ended with a conviction.

Japan

Japan is one of the safest countries in Asia, and its murder rate of less than one per 100,000 is the lowest among industrial nations. Japan has a population of 127 million, yet street crime is practically non-existent there, and drug use is low. This is largely attributed to the culture of Japan, as being known to use illegal drugs or being sentence to prison would be considered of bad character. Organized crime is an issue in Japan, with organized crime syndicates (known as the Yakuza) being involved in extortion, blackmail, pornography, arson and influencing public officials.

Luxembourg

A small country of 1,000 square miles, and a population under 600,000, Luxembourg has low murder and violent crime rates, thought petty crimes, such as pickpocketing and purse-snatching, are known to happen in tourist areas. Charges of police corruption are rare. Meanwhile, Luxembourg has the highest Gross Domestic Product per capita in 2014, according to the United Nations.