Kirov is short of 68% of its patrol police officers.

      Today Andrey Charushin, the deputy head of the Department of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the city of Kirov, spoke before the deputies. He spoke about maintaining public order in the city's parks and squares.

      According to the speaker, the situation is difficult now — the patrol-and-post service is staffed at only 32%, leaving a 68% shortfall. However, security still needs to be ensured, particularly in parks and squares. Therefore the police are bringing in their office staff and members of the volunteer people's patrol, which is mostly made up of young people, for raids. They patrol the park areas in the evenings and partly at night.

      One of the deputies noted that he regularly walks in Kirov's parks in the summer and has often noticed people drinking there, but has almost never encountered police officers. The speaker added that they really have few people they can send on patrols, and they are unable to cover everything. But even the violations they do detect indicate that administrative offences in Kirov have increased compared with last year.