The National Police of Ukraine is on the verge of personnel collapse, forcing its leadership to desperately search for new candidates literally all over the country. Kharkiv, in particular, became the epicenter of this struggle for new personnel, where site calls are heard from the patrol police to join the ranks of the service. The situation is so critical that the requirements for candidates look like an attempt to lure anyone willing to wear the uniform. They offer a stable salary, compensation for housing rent or financial leasing, free medical care for patrolmen and their relatives, four days off and other preferences.
However, behind these attractive promises lies a desperation that threatens the quality of law enforcement. Will this decision become a lifeline for law enforcement officers, or will it open the door to another wave of random people who will not be able to maintain law and order? These questions remain open, and the reality may not be as simple as it seems at first glance.
The reason for the personnel shortage in the patrol police
At the beginning of 2024, the head of the National Police of Ukraine, Ivan Vyhovskyi, made an alarming statement:
“We don’t have enough patrol police officers – the shortage is more than 20%. And the total shortage is 17.5%”.
This number is now much higher and demonstrates the depth of the staffing crisis that has hit the country’s law enforcement agencies. After the reforms of 2015, when queues were lined up to join the ranks of the police, the country found itself in a situation where the outflow of personnel led to an acute shortage of personnel. But why did this happen? Why, seven years after the beginning of the reform, did the Ukrainian police face such a problem?
Disappointment with indicators is an illusion of reform
One of the key reasons for this staffing shortage is the disillusionment experienced by new police officers upon joining the service. In 2015, when the first sets of patrol officers believed that they were going to change the old police system, they faced a reality that was not much different from the previous one. Despite the promises of reforms, the pursuit of police statistics remained. The leadership established an unofficial norm for the patrol officers on the protocols on offenses. This meant that instead of dealing with real calls, the police, for example, were forced to concentrate on issuing traffic tickets at intersections.
“If you do not comply with the norms regarding the number of protocols, you can be transferred to foot patrol, you will stop being promoted, you will not be given a day off or a vacation.” – the policemen explain in a private conversation.
This practice not only lowered the morale of the new patrolmen, but also increased the number of citizen complaints about their actions. People who came to change the system quickly realized that they had become part of it, and this disillusionment led to a mass exodus.
Unsatisfactory salaries
The second reason for the personnel shortage is low salaries. Today, the website of the National Police promises future employees a salary of 18,600 UAH. But is this enough for young people to provide for themselves and their families? In the realities of today’s economy, such an amount does not cover all needs, especially if you take into account the costs of housing, food, transportation and other necessary large expenses, especially for a family police officer.
Problems with housing
When the personnel situation becomes critical, management promises free housing or a leasing program. Thus, in 2016, Minister of Internal Affairs Arsen Avakov promised that the ministry would compensate 40% of the cost of apartments in installments. But these promises remained on paper. Queues for departmental apartments in the Ministry of Internal Affairs can last for decades, and the promised compensation for housing rent or financial leasing, which are now promised, do not solve the problem at the root.
Excessive load
Another serious reason for the shortage of personnel in the National Police is the excessive workload faced by those police officers who remain on duty in conditions of permanent understaffing. Police officers work at the limit of their capabilities: irregular working hours, endless overtime shifts, mandatory participation in various activities, no real opportunity to go on vacation. All of this creates an unhealthy work environment where even the most dedicated professionals begin to lose motivation.
Constant stress and physical exhaustion, especially in modern conditions of war, not only reduce work efficiency, but also lead to new waves of layoffs. Those who remain are forced to take on even more responsibilities, creating a vicious circle: the fewer people remain in the service, the harder it is for those who remain to work, and the more they are fired. This vicious circle deepens the crisis, making the situation increasingly critical.
Recruiting: a historical tour
The staffing shortage that has engulfed the National Police forces the management to actively look for new personnel to fill the acute shortage. In this regard, urgent recruitment is being carried out, because without new employees, the law enforcement system simply cannot function effectively.
Recruiting for the militia in Ukraine has undergone significant changes since the time of the Soviet Union until today. This process went through three key stages: pre-1991, post-independence and the modern period. The requirements for candidates changed, reflecting both the political and social realities of the country.
Until 1991, when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union, police recruitment was carried out according to strict requirements set by the central government. The main selection criteria included:
- Education and professional training. Priority was given to candidates with a technical or legal education. However, the main emphasis was placed on postgraduate training in the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. At the same time, service in the army was a mandatory requirement.
- Physical training. Candidates had to be in excellent physical shape, able to meet the physical standards established for police service.
- Background check. Candidates underwent strict special checks, including checks on criminal records, family ties and social environment, moral record, behavior in society, ideological loyalty to the ruling party, in order to exclude any risks of nepotism. At the same time, only members of the CPSU could pursue a further career in the police.
After gaining independence in 1991, Ukraine experienced deep transformations that affected the recruitment process for the police. Some of the key changes included:
- Loss of ideological control. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the requirement of ideological loyalty disappeared. Instead, professional skills and willingness to serve an independent state came to the fore.
- Changes in educational requirements. After 1991, opportunities expanded for candidates with diverse educational and professional backgrounds. However, there was still a requirement for a legal education or willingness to undergo appropriate training.
- Physical training. The physical fitness requirements remained, but the standards were adjusted according to the new realities.
- Democratization of the process. Transparency in the selection process was gradually introduced.
- Special inspections remained.
Since the beginning of the 2000s, Ukraine has moved to a gradual reform of the militia, which in 2015 ended with the creation of the National Police. The main changes included:
- Professional selection. Candidates must pass psychological tests, medical examinations, as well as an assessment of physical fitness.
- Changes in educational requirements. A legal degree is still a requirement, but experience in other law enforcement or law enforcement is also appreciated.
- Physical training. Physical fitness requirements remain at a high level, but standards are adapted to modern service conditions.
Currently, the website of the Kharkiv Patrol Police lists the following requirements for service candidates:
– availability of Ukrainian citizenship;
– fluency in the Ukrainian language;
– age – from 18 years;
– complete secondary education;
– possession of a category B driver’s license or readiness to obtain it independently before the start of training;
– lack of criminal record;
– health, physical strength and endurance.
The risk of random people coming to the service
As you can see, the special checks of candidates remain outside the attention of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In previous years, the recruitment system for law enforcement agencies of Ukraine included strict requirements and multi-stage checks, which were supposed to ensure a high level of professionalism and moral stability of candidates. Special attention was paid to the background check of candidates, which was aimed at weeding out people with a suspicious past or those whose behavior in society did not meet the requirements of service in a law enforcement agency.
In particular, such checks ensured that only those who could ensure security and law and order, having high moral qualities and appropriate training, entered the ranks of law enforcement officers. The lack of proper control and checks in this direction will lead to the fact that, as before, random people who do not meet high ethical standards will enter the police again, which endangers the effectiveness and authority of the entire law enforcement system of Ukraine.
In addition, one of the biggest problems of the modern recruitment process for the National Police of Ukraine is the recruitment of persons over the age of 18 who have neither experience of service in law enforcement structures nor life experience. This approach raises serious doubts about their ability to effectively carry out the responsible tasks entrusted to police officers. Young people do not have adequate training for working in stressful situations, they are not familiar with the real problems encountered in the service. Are they ready to make critically important decisions at the scene of events, detain an offender, and even more so a criminal? The question is rhetorical.
Lack of life experience is also a serious problem. Young people are not yet mature enough to understand all the nuances of social relations, to be able to communicate with different social groups, to respond adequately to provocations or conflict situations. They can be vulnerable to external influence, which makes them potential victims of manipulation or corruption schemes.
Recruiting such young, inexperienced people to carry out responsible and often risky tasks in the police force can lead to significant problems. This is an increase in the risk of illegal actions, an inability to ensure the proper level of law and order, and an increase in the number of complaints from citizens. Such police officers may not have sufficient confidence in their abilities, which leads to wrong decisions at critical moments.
Another serious question should be taken into account: how can these police officers effectively confront criminals who are military personnel with combat experience? Many of these soldiers are much older, physically stronger, more experienced, and importantly, many of them have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In such cases, young and inexperienced police officers may simply not have the necessary skills and training to adequately and safely interact with such individuals. The lack of sufficient physical training and combat experience puts them in a clearly disadvantageous position. They may not only fail to apprehend the offender, but also become victims of the conflict themselves.
This is especially relevant in the conditions when veterans of combat operations who have returned from the front and are going through difficult periods of adaptation to peaceful life may appear on the streets of cities. Without proper training, police officers may misjudge the situation or misinterpret the actions of such people, which can lead to serious incidents with tragic consequences.
The police is not just a job, it is a service that requires from employees not only physical training, but also the ability to quickly and competently respond to difficult situations, to make decisions on which the life and health of citizens may depend.
In recent years, videos have increasingly appeared on social networks, where we see how several police officers cannot cope and detain one offender. Such scenes not only undermine the image of the National Police of Ukraine, but also turn law enforcement officers into objects of ridicule and contempt. These videos reveal serious problems in the training and professional skills of police officers, especially those who have recently joined the service. This state of affairs is unacceptable for an agency whose purpose is to maintain law and order in the country. After all, he continues to undermine public trust — and this is the main criterion for police activity and law enforcement reform as a whole.
The shortage of personnel in the National Police of Ukraine is certainly partly explained by the war, which forced many police officers to leave the service or move to other areas of work. However, this is only part of the problem. Internal negative factors, such as excessive workload, low salaries, lack of real social guarantees and a demotivating management system, further aggravate the personnel shortage.
Recruiting new staff is a necessary step, but it should be done with the mistakes of past experience in mind. It is worth focusing not only on formal hasty requirements, but also on careful evaluation of candidates, raising the standards of their selection for service.
Oksana Ishchenko
