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With state organisations reorganising their staff and activities, to the man in the street the true reasons for it will often remain hazy – for the simple reason, mostly, that they have no direct contact with the domain. Some, of course, will always emotionally say that officialdom needs thinning; others will worry about the service – the state being thin as it is.
With its 5,000 some staff, Police and Border Guard Board is the largest state authority. This, however, isn’t their only peculiarity: for a citizen, their job is associated with daily security. Thus, there’s quite a close contact with all of us. In home street and another town, on lakes and rivers, as well as psychologically – having our border safe, and thereby the relatives, the neighbours, the entire country. Good police-work equals a feeling that the law and order is always there for me – on the one hand, they need to be visible; on the other, swift to react when help is asked.
Police has decided to thoroughly reform itself, the goal being to increase effectiveness of the organisation and, first in line, to raise the lowest salaries which have often befallen those toiling the hardest patrolling the streets (to halt staff turnover). At that, what the public expects most is that the reform happens as unnoticed as possible. If the result is a stronger organisation, surely the citizens will feel it to a degree. Even so, it would really be felt should such reform fall flat. Should the organisation lose confidence, it would be seen in the field, so to speak; and, then, the reformers would quickly come under public contempt.
The reform currently planned, with about 80 support staff laid off plus dozens of people in the central Tallinn unit and close to €5m added to employees’ salary fund, is therefore too early to be criticised or praised. In police, the need for reform was felt – as acknowledged by several former interior ministers; meanwhile, wage rise obviously cannot be generated by asking for extra money every year by some (political) tricks.
As long as Police and Border Guard Board trust remains at current heights i.e. steadfastly above 80 percent, no need to worry. As stated by its director-general Elmar Vaher: «For police, trust isn’t just a matter of prestige – it’s a matter of life and death.» Surely, trust towards the reformers will be deepened by knowing that rearrangements do also touch the top management – instead of current five deputy director-generals, only three will remain.