Streamlining the system requires some 'sacrifice'.

In implementing the Party and State's policy on restructuring, reforming, and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the political apparatus, the Ministry of Public Security has actively and proactively taken the lead in streamlining its structure while ensuring operational effectiveness and efficiency. The police force will be closer to the people and more closely connected to the grassroots; overlapping and fragmentation will be overcome, administrative reforms will be strengthened; and better conditions will be created to focus investment on modernizing equipment and combat vehicles.

Discussing this issue, Lieutenant General Nguyen Ngoc Anh, Director of the Department of Legal Affairs and Administrative and Judicial Reform, Ministry of Public Security, assessed that the reform and reorganization of the Ministry of Public Security's organizational structure demonstrates the Ministry's proactive, exemplary, and leading role in implementing Resolution No. 6 of the 12th Central Committee on restructuring, reforming, and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the political apparatus.

Inheriting selectively the advantages of the Ministry of Public Security's organizational structure from the past to the present, the Central Party Committee of Public Security proactively researched and developed Project 106 "Some issues on continuing to innovate and reorganize the organizational structure of the Ministry of Public Security to be streamlined, effective and efficient"; and advised and proposed to the Politburo to issue Resolution No. 22-NQ/TW dated March 15, 2018 on "Continuing to innovate and reorganize the organizational structure of the Ministry of Public Security to be streamlined, effective and efficient".

"This is a historic resolution to guide the People's Public Security force in reforming its organization and structure, building a centralized, unified, and specialized system in the direction of 'a lean central ministry, strong provincial forces, comprehensive district forces, and grassroots-based commune forces,' as a basis for adjusting and deploying forces and implementing personnel reduction."

"We can see Resolution No. 22 of the Politburo as a 'bright torch' guiding the Central Party Committee of Public Security, the leadership of the Ministry of Public Security, and the entire People's Public Security force in implementing reforms to the organizational structure," Lieutenant General Nguyen Ngoc Anh emphasized.

According to Lieutenant General Nguyen Ngoc Anh, Resolution 22 points out that the police apparatus has basically fulfilled its functions and tasks in the past, but in light of the new situation and the Party's requirements for streamlining the apparatus, the Resolution has set out very specific goals, requirements, directions, and roadmaps and steps to ensure that the People's Police apparatus is both streamlined and effective. The Central Party Committee of Public Security and the leadership of the Ministry of Public Security have implemented many policies and measures, ensuring very good results in practice.

On August 6, 2018, the Prime Minister signed Decree No. 01-ND-CP stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Public Security. According to this Decree, the functions, tasks, and powers of the Ministry of Public Security remain fundamentally unchanged, while its organizational structure is built to be centralized, unified, and specialized, following the direction of "a lean central ministry, strong provincial-level agencies, comprehensive district-level agencies, and grassroots-based commune-level agencies."

Lieutenant General Nguyen Ngoc Anh stated that the issuance and publication of Decree 01 is an "important step" in leadership and guidance on streamlining the administrative apparatus. Furthermore, it is evident that Project 106, Resolution 22 of the Politburo, and Government Decree 01 have received significant public attention and full support regarding the direction of streamlining the administrative apparatus.

In an effort to reorganize its structure, the Ministry of Public Security has officially announced a plan to reduce 6 general departments, nearly 60 departmental-level units, and nearly 300 divisional-level units. At the local level, 20 local Fire and Rescue Police forces, after a period of establishment, have now been merged into the provincial and city police forces, streamlining the organization of provincial and district-level police; reducing more than 500 divisional-level units and nearly 1,000 team-level units.

Department-level units will be reorganized according to the principle that units with similar functions and tasks, units with unclear tasks or target groups, or units with closely related functions and tasks requiring coordination during operation will be merged or consolidated, ensuring that one agency or unit can perform multiple tasks and that one task is assigned to only one agency or unit as the primary responsible party. At the department-level units, the number of division-level units will also be reduced. The police force at the commune and town level will be built towards being highly professional and standardized. Including both the Ministry of Public Security and local authorities, approximately 800 division-level units will be eliminated.

Lieutenant General Nguyen Ngoc Anh stated that this can be considered "an organizational revolution," reflecting not only the political determination of the Central Public Security Party Committee and the leadership of the Ministry of Public Security, but also the determination of the entire political system.

"Of course, we must acknowledge that streamlining the apparatus in this way will inevitably involve some 'sacrifice'. Some departments have been merged from multiple existing ones, consolidating many different units, resulting in only over 50 departmental-level units compared to over 100 previously, while the responsibilities are becoming increasingly heavy," said Lieutenant General Nguyen Ngoc Anh, emphasizing a crucial requirement: streamlining the apparatus must ensure the effectiveness of the Ministry of Public Security's functions and tasks, and that political security and social order are maintained. The streamlined organizational structure must also ensure that the People's Police remain the core force in crime prevention and national security.

In addition, another notable innovation is the establishment of regular police forces at the commune and town levels; initially, regular police forces will be deployed in key areas with complex security and order issues, with a view to implementing this uniformly nationwide after the relevant legal documents are finalized.

According to Lieutenant General Nguyen Ngoc Anh, this is a correct policy, consistent with the current practical situation, ensuring that the People's Police force is closer to the people, protects the people better, and at the same time allows the people to shelter, help, support, and love the police force.

"This policy requires the entire political system to get involved, especially ensuring that there is no increase in personnel throughout the process of deploying regular police officers to serve as commune police, while also addressing many issues. The number of police officers must be carefully calculated because, in the past, the people have been very grateful to the commune police force; they are very close to the people, 'breathing the same air as the people,' and constantly concerned about security and order at the grassroots level. Now that we are deploying regular police officers to the grassroots, we must find a way to establish good relationships with the local government, Party committees, departments, and especially to effectively combine the local security forces with the regular police. I believe this is a crucial issue that needs to be considered very carefully," Lieutenant General Nguyen Ngoc Anh shared.

Keywords:Government,Prime minister,Politburo,Decree 01,Ministry of Public Security,machinery,organization,officials,Lieutenant General Nguyen Ngoc Anh

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