President Iohannis promises Interior Ministry employees plead for decent wages, working conditions

President Klaus Iohannis told Interior Ministry's employees upon their annual report on Monday he would plead for decent wages and working conditions for law enforcers.

Photo credit: (c) CRISTIAN LUPASCU / AGERPRES ARCHIVE

'I understand the material constraints faced by the law enforcers. I will always plead for decent wages and working conditions matching their responsibilities, the President declared.

He underlined he wanted the Police more dedicated to prevention and a Gendarmerie more present for citizens' safety.

'The development of a society is, I think, directly linked to the extent of the preventive side becoming more efficient than the punitive one when it comes to encouraging correctness and legality and to discouraging crime. I wish a Police much more focused on prevention, either we talk about the traffic police or about the force with responsibilities in the economic and financial crime area. We could have a Gendarmerie less centred on guarding some objectives and more present for the citizen's safety. At the Interior Ministry level, a more substantial information work is also necessary, regarding not just the criminal networks, but also the protection of its own staff,' Iohannis said.

He called the policemen the first interface in the relation between the state and its citizens.

'We all want a safe Romania, where the relation between the state and the individuals is built on mutual respect, where citizens know their rights and freedom are defended and the law is equal to all. In a democratic society, the order and safety favourably complete the freedom, and their source is not the fear, but the respect for the law, the deep understanding of the fact that this is the basis upon which the prosperity and...