Students from the master's degree programme in Forensic Expertise at the Smolyan Branch of VFU "Chernorizets Hrabar" visited the District Directorate of the M inistry of Interior - Smolyan on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the institution. The event also involved renowned lecturers who work at the Branch, as well as the head of the master's degree programme - Prof. Yonko Kunchev, D.Sc.
The Director of the Directorate of the Ministry of Interior, Senior Commissioner Nikolay Dimov, told about the history of the institution and presented its structure and activities. "I have prepared the schedule of your visit in a very purposeful manner - not only to get an idea of the activities of the District Directorate in Smolyan, as part of the structure of the Ministry of Interior, but also you should get knowledge and see details of what you are learning," he noted.
The Director explained to the students what the most important procedural and investigative actions in the event of a crime are. "The inspection of a crime scene without the involvement of an expert-forensic group is unthinkable and impossible. The qualitative inspection depends on the further work and the detection of the crime," the Senior Commissioner said.
In front of the students, the Police Director pointed out that the main tool for counteracting crime is prevention. "Smolyan has one of the lowest levels of crime in the country, and for three years we have had the highest detection of crimes – to my colleagues’ credit. Crime is not among the problems of Smolyan region. Here, there are no typical for the other parts of the country raids - entire villages are devastated, homes are destroyed. Despite the immense migration of the population inside and outside the country, and ghostly settlements have been left, we manage to preserve the property of the people. We work in extremely good partnership with all government structures – law enforcement, local government authorities, "he said.
Prof. Kunchev showed an interest in the anti-criminality factors that contributed to the low level of crime in the region, which he described as an "interesting phenomenon" and highlighted the good work of the police.
"There are many factors in the Smolyan region for the low criminal activity of the population. Here, to a great extent, the pure family values are preserved, which, unfortunately, in the bigger cities are considered archaic ", pointed out the Director of the Ministry of Interior Directorate. He also pointed out the merits of the judiciary.
"When a crime is detected, the people in Smolyan are not anonymous, as in the big cities. They see that somebody responds to the signal. This increases confidence. Relatively quick detection and speedy justice in our area are crucial. Last but not least are the local media, with whom we work in good partnership. It is known that the police have caught the man X who had committed a crime. When this is announced by the media, it has a deterrent effect," explained the Senior Commissioner.