Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan pays joint working visit to Patrol Service with U.S. Ambassador and Acting Head of EU Delegation

On 9 August of this year, for the purpose of getting acquainted with the results of the activities that the Patrol Service has carried out in the past month, Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan paid a joint working visit to the Patrol Service with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to Armenia Lynne Tracy and Acting Head of the Delegation of the European Union Jan Plešinger. Head of Police Vahe Ghazaryan, First Deputy Minister of Justice Kristinne Grigoryan as well as representatives of the Police and the Ministry of Justice were also attending the meeting.

During the visit, the results of the activities carried out in the past month, the main achievements of the Service, including the public opinion on the Service were summarised. The main challenges and problems of the new Service were also discussed, and the measures aimed at resolving the challenges and problems were presented by the Police and the Ministry of Justice. Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan expressed gratitude to his American and EU partners for their consistent support and involvement. Mher Grigoryan noted that the functioning of a specialised external service that has integrity and reaches out to citizens in difficult situations is a priority goal for the Government on the path to implementation of democratic reforms in the police sector.

U.S. Ambassador Mrs. Tracy stressed that the United States is proud to support the reforms agenda in Armenia and, paying heed to the request of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, to ensure training for patrol police officers. ''Our common goal is to enhance the co-operation over law-enforcement issues and to modernise the standards for training of police officers and serving the public with excellence,” Ambassador Tracy stated.

Acting Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Armenia Jan Plešinger noted that the EU is willing to continue to provide support to Armenia with respect to reforms in the justice and police sectors. The EU is glad to support the Patrol Service in Armenia, including equipping the Service with police vehicles, within the scope of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

The administration of the Patrol Service presented to the guests the technical equipment and software of vehicles of the Service, as well as the technical equipment and uniforms of the patrol officers.

The expansion of the Patrol Service to Shirak and Lori Marzes, as well as the process and chronology of admission were also touched upon. The U.S. Ambassador and the Acting Head of the EU Delegation expressed their ongoing support for introduction of the Patrol Service throughout the Republic of Armenia and implementation of consistent reforms in the police sector.