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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | June 23, 1992 (1992-06-23) |
| Jurisdiction | Government of Kazakhstan |
| Agency executive | |
| Parent department | Ministry of Internal Affairs |
| Website | https://mvd.gov.kz |
Law enforcement in Kazakhstan is handled by theKazakhstan police (Kazakh:Қазақстан полициясы,romanized: Qazaqstan polisiasy,[qɑzɑqsˈtʰɑnpɐˈlʲit͡sɨjəsɯ]) and law courts, largely unchanged from the era ofSoviet control,[1] and is shared between the country'sNational Security Committee,Ministry of Internal Affairs and theOffice of the Procurator General.
The police force itself comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, whereas the National Security Committee and the Procurator General's office are responsibly for intelligence gathering and investigation respectively. From 1992 Kazakhstan became a member ofINTERPOL. Its law enforcement agencies are closely tied with those ofRussia,Mongolia,Uzbekistan,Tajikistan, andKyrgyzstan.
The court system in Kazakhstan operates at three levels, local, province, andsupreme court, and operates under a system of guaranteed legal representation (similar to that of theUnited States of America).
The website of the US Embassy in Kazakhstan notes that in 2004-2005 theKazakhstan government's human-rights record "remained poor," and "the Government continued to commit numerous abuses."[2] Observer groupFreedom House ranks this formerSoviet state with a 6 in Political Rights and a 5 in Civil Liberties (scale of 1-7; 1 is the highest), denoting it as "Not Free." Political expression was reported to be restricted in Kazakhstan in the months leading up to presidential elections in December, according to observers, includingHuman Rights Watch andFreedom House.[3]
The CIA world fact book cites that out of 76,000 prisoners interred in Kazakhstan prisons, 1,300 died of tuberculosis in 1995, and the prisons themselves suffer from overcrowding and staff shortages.[4] In 2000s, the authorities made a conscious effort to reduce prison population, and achieved a significant decline of prisoners and those held in pre-trial detention.[5] While the government funding for the prison system is still seen to be inadequate, prison conditions have improved, andseveral outdated penitentiaries have been closed.[4]
Kazakhstan has suffered from growing crime rates in the 1990s, with a rate of 50 crimes per 10,000 population being cited, most commonlyviolent crime and possession/distribution ofnarcotics, (cannabis andopium in particular, it was estimated that there are 1,380 km2 of cannabis plantation).[4] The 2018 International Crime Victims Survey showed low crime rates in the country.[6] The police are also reportedly underfunded.[4] In 2018, the ministry of Interior reported the number of Policemen to be 424 policemen per 100,000 citizens, with an average salary of 300 US dollars,[7] which puts the total number at approximately 80,000 policemen.
