Create a full legal basis for security and social order protection forces.

Minister of Public Security To Lam presented the Proposal on the draft Law on Forces participating in protecting security and order at the grassroots level.

On the morning of June 20, continuing the 5th Session of the 15th National Assembly, the National Assembly listened to the Presentation and Verification Report on the draft Law on Forces Participating in Protecting Security and Order at the Grassroots Level.

Organize, consolidate, and streamline internal connections

Presenting the Report, General To Lam, Minister of Public Security, said that the development of the Law aims to institutionalize the Party's viewpoints and policies on perfecting, arranging, and streamlining internal focal points in conjunction with perfecting the functions, tasks, powers, and working relationships of each grassroots organization; reducing state budget expenditures; concretizing and creating a legal basis to ensure the implementation of the provisions of the 2013 Constitution on human rights and civil rights, meeting the requirements of protecting national security, ensuring social order and safety in the new situation.

At the same time, build and strengthen the mass movement to protect security, order and social safety at the grassroots level under the leadership of the Party, the management of the government and functional forces, in which the People's Public Security plays the core role.

Codify legal documents on forces participating in protecting security and order at the grassroots level to stipulate in legal documents, ensuring consistency and unity of the legal system.

The development of the Law creates a more complete and appropriate legal basis for the construction, operation, management and use of forces participating in protecting security and order at the grassroots level, meeting the requirements of state management of security and order at the grassroots level.

The guiding viewpoint in drafting the Law is to comply with the Constitution, ensure consistency and synchronization with other relevant legal documents; ensure that the provisions of the Law are specific and feasible; and fully and comprehensively summarize the practical activities of forces participating in protecting security and order at the grassroots level in performing assigned functions, tasks and powers.

Closely follow the Party's viewpoints and policies on arranging, perfecting, and streamlining internal focal points of each grassroots organization, reducing state budget expenditures; selectively refer to the laws of a number of countries on the organization and operation of forces participating in ensuring security and order at the grassroots level to apply regulations in accordance with practical conditions in Vietnam.

The Draft Law consists of 5 chapters and 31 articles.

Regarding the position and function of the force participating in protecting security and order at the grassroots level, the draft Law stipulates that the force participating in protecting security and order at the grassroots level is a voluntary mass force selected to participate in the security and order protection team; acting as the core in building a self-management model for protecting security and order in communes, wards and towns and supporting the police force in performing the tasks of protecting security and order, fire prevention and fighting, rescue, and building a mass movement to protect national security at the commune level.

Regarding the arrangement, consolidation and deployment of forces, the draft Law stipulates the consolidation and unification of the civil defense force, the part-time communal police force that has completed its duties and the positions of captain and deputy captain of the civil defense team into a force participating in protecting security and order at the grassroots level and arranged according to the model of security and order protection teams in villages, residential groups and equivalent residential units.

The draft Law stipulates that forces participating in protecting security and order at the grassroots level are entitled to regular monthly support, support for voluntary social insurance and health insurance contributions; are assigned locations, workplaces, training, training, equipped with support tools, uniforms, badges, insignia, signs, certificates; and are dealt with in cases of illness, accidents, death, injury, sacrifice, etc. while performing their duties.

Ensuring consistency in the legal system

Presenting the Verification Report, Chairman of the National Assembly's Defense and Security Committee Le Tan Toi basically agreed on the necessity of promulgating the Law. The development of the Law is consistent with the content of the documents of the 13th National Congress of the Party, Resolution No. 51-NQ/TW dated September 5, 2019, Resolution No. 12-NQ/TW dated March 16, 2022 of the Politburo and Directive No. 09-CT/TW dated December 1, 2011 of the Secretariat.

Delegations of National Assembly deputies from Bac Giang, Ha Nam and An Giang provinces discussed in groups the draft Law on Forces Participating in Protecting Security and Order at the Grassroots Level.

In reality, most incidents related to security and order occur at the grassroots level and need to be detected, prevented, and handled promptly and early to minimize the consequences for society.

However, the activities of the regular police force in communes, wards and towns currently face many difficulties in managing the area, understanding customs and practices, using ethnic minority languages, etc., so the participation of grassroots forces, especially the former part-time commune police force, protecting the people and militia is an inevitable requirement.

The National Defense and Security Committee found that the draft Law had been carefully prepared, met the requirements of the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents, and was eligible to be submitted to the National Assembly for discussion and comments. The draft Law thoroughly implemented the Party's policies and guidelines, and was in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and relevant laws.

However, because the content of the draft Law is related to the functions and tasks of the People's Public Security force and a number of other relevant forces at the grassroots level, the National Defense and Security Committee proposed to continue reviewing to ensure consistency in the legal system; ensure strictness and feasibility when applying the Law.

The National Defense and Security Committee believes that the level of assurance is still very limited compared to the requirements of the task. When perfecting and reorganizing the force, it is necessary to pay more attention to implementing the regime, policies, and conditions to ensure the operation of the force in order to motivate, encourage, and attract people to participate and meet the requirements of the assigned task.

Therefore, the National Defense and Security Committee recommends carefully assessing and calculating the sufficient funding level that the state budget must ensure to meet the requirements of the task; motivating and encouraging people to participate, in accordance with the spending capacity according to the provisions of the State Budget Law as a basis for the National Assembly to consider and decide.

Some opinions say that the Ministry of Public Security is responsible for leading the implementation of professional, technical and operational management; the Ministry of Home Affairs is responsible for managing the construction, selection, arrangement of forces, and implementation of regimes and policies for this force.

The National Defense and Security Committee basically agrees with the draft Law stipulating that the Ministry of Public Security is responsible to the Government for presiding over the implementation of state management of forces participating in protecting security and order at the grassroots level; at the same time, continue to review the specific content on the responsibilities of ministries, branches, agencies, organizations and local authorities to absorb appropriately, ensuring consistency, rationality and feasibility.

According to VNA