site.btaInterior Minister Calls for Realignment in the System to Protect Its Image

The Interior Ministry system should be realigned and factors damaging its image should be taken care of, Interior Minister Daniel Mitov said in Pleven on Tuesday. He said there are things which tarnish the ministry’s image and create a negative impression both in the public and among the thousands of employees in the system who do their job well. “I have asked police leaders to take a close look at their staff, give them due instructions, conduct training, identify colleagues who are inclined to behave aggressively, and pay attention to personal conflicts,” Mitov said.

He was in Pleven together with Interior Ministry Secretary General Miroslav Rashkov to review the performance of the Regional Directorate of the Interior Ministry in 2024.

He said the training courses which should be conducted must be relevant and timely, teaching every employee to go by the rules in every situation instinctively.

Mitov thanked the police in Pleven for their work, which he described as “more than good”.

Discussing traffic conditions, he said the traffic police are doing their part of the job, but he has ordered them to increase their presence on the ground, exercise control, monitor the condition of the roads and make recommendations. The Interior Ministry and the other institutions concerned with road safety have agreed on concrete measures to upgrade control, Mitov said.

He attributed the unsatisfactory road safety situation to what he described as “political vacuum over the last four years”, noting that the public outrage is understandable.

The minister called for using police cars without insignia to control aggressive drivers. Traffic police working on the ground should be entitled to impose punishments immediately and even bar vehicles off the road until the respective penalties are paid, he said.