ISSUE 2
MIA Attempts to Reform: Police-Citizen Relationship
June 17, 2024
Our previous issue exposing gender disparities in Kazakhstani policing led us to conclude that there is an institutional failure to ensure that victimized citizens receive the respectful and professional treatment necessary for their due protection. While this problem became particularly vivid amidst the attention to crimes committed against women, the broader question of prioritizing victims' needs has been on the official agenda for some time.
Since 2018, when the government embarked on extensive reforms of Internal Affairs bodies, it has attempted to introduce service-oriented policing - a model focused on quality service to the local community and prioritizing people's needs. As five years have passed, we find ourselves questioning the efficacy of these reforms.
This issue is an overview of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' (MIA) progress in becoming more citizen-oriented. It examines the many developments that have either contributed to or undermined the achievement of this goal.
Approximate reading time: 15 min
Lead-author: Aliya Mustafina | Co-author: Zhibek Akimova | Line editor: Adiya Tulesheva
Our previous issue exposing gender disparities in Kazakhstani policing led us to conclude that there is an institutional failure to ensure that victimized citizens receive the respectful and professional treatment necessary for their due protection. While this problem became particularly vivid amidst the attention to crimes committed against women, the broader question of prioritizing victims' needs has been on the official agenda for some time.
Since 2018, when the government embarked on extensive reforms of Internal Affairs bodies, it has attempted to introduce service-oriented policing - a model focused on quality service to the local community and prioritizing people's needs. As five years have passed, we find ourselves questioning the efficacy of these reforms.
This issue is an overview of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' (MIA) progress in becoming more citizen-oriented. It examines the many developments that have either contributed to or undermined the achievement of this goal.
Approximate reading time: 15 min
Lead-author: Aliya Mustafina | Co-author: Zhibek Akimova | Line editor: Adiya Tulesheva
Turning Point for Police Change
In the summer of 2018, Kazakhstan's beloved figure skater Denis Ten was murdered by thieves in broad daylight in the center of Almaty. His tragic death embodied a failed state of Kazakhstani police, showcasing that citizens could not rely on, and thus trust it. This triggered the demands from above and from below for comprehensive reforms within the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).
Within just four days, more than 15 thousand people joined a newly emerged Facebook community: "We Demand MIA Reforms." The leaders of the movement developed a police reform concept, thereby channelling accumulated public grievances into concrete policy proposals and initiatives, which were further directed towards the MIA itself, the President, and the Parliament. This concept envisioned open and transparent police activities, increasing police effectiveness and professionalism, complete personnel renewal, anti-corruption measures, and mechanisms for protecting citizens' rights. Such intense public demand for systemic changes stood on the cumulative dissatisfaction with the police as an institution.
In the summer of 2018, Kazakhstan's beloved figure skater Denis Ten was murdered by thieves in broad daylight in the center of Almaty. His tragic death embodied a failed state of Kazakhstani police, showcasing that citizens could not rely on, and thus trust it. This triggered the demands from above and from below for comprehensive reforms within the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).
Within just four days, more than 15 thousand people joined a newly emerged Facebook community: "We Demand MIA Reforms." The leaders of the movement developed a police reform concept, thereby channelling accumulated public grievances into concrete policy proposals and initiatives, which were further directed towards the MIA itself, the President, and the Parliament. This concept envisioned open and transparent police activities, increasing police effectiveness and professionalism, complete personnel renewal, anti-corruption measures, and mechanisms for protecting citizens' rights. Such intense public demand for systemic changes stood on the cumulative dissatisfaction with the police as an institution.
Roots for Distrust in Kazakhstani Police
In Kazakhstan, low trust in the police can be defined as people's reluctance to seek police help, primarily due to a belief in their ineffectiveness and fear of interacting with them. This perception is formed by personal experiences, observations of others, media reports of police misconduct, and the overall perception of authorities. In 30 years of the country's independence, three key points of our shared experiences have shaped a prevailing view that the well-being of citizens is not the police priority.
1. The public has witnessed numerous instances of abusive treatment of citizens by police. This is because, historically, the police have prioritized supporting the government's interests and practised brutality with impunity.
Under the Soviet regime, the police served the political elite and maintained the existing order by suppressing public protests and civilian opposition, as the 1986 Jeltoqsan reminds us. This Soviet legacy influenced the modern Kazakhstani police as an institution. Dr. Erika Marat, a professor at the National Defense University in Washington and an expert on police reform, claims that in the post-Soviet space, now-independent authorities continue to favour such police loyalty to the government, keeping them as an instrument in their hands. Fundamentally, the working style of the police that serves this purpose has been shaped over decades, resulting in deeply ingrained structural and operational arrangements that find their expression today.
The collective consciousness of Kazakhstani society stores fresh memories of the police shooting Zhanaozen oil workers during their strike in December 2011. More recently, in 2019-2020, Almaty and Astana saw an unprecedented wave of protests following the presidential transition. Human rights activists observed instances of harsh police detentions and excessive force used in response to the assembly of numerous civilian groups to demand political reforms. Such practices as forcefully transporting individuals in police vans and surrounding activists in a ring during winter were heavily criticized in the media. Among the reasons for such police attitude were the unsanctioned nature of the protests and the affiliation of some protesters with the opposition group "DVK", acknowledged as an extremist movement in the country. Yet, as protests represent an exercise of citizens' right to peaceful assembly, the perception of the police more as a feared power structure than as a protector of citizens was further solidified. This was evident in a 2021 sociological survey of 24,152 respondents regarding trust in law enforcement, in which many respondents frequently used the following words about police mistreatment: 'bribes,' 'fear,' 'anxiety,' 'apprehension,' 'arrogance,' 'rudeness,' 'impoliteness,' and 'cruelty.'
2. People perceive police corruption as a habitual phenomenon of their day-to-day lives, and news media routinely feature stories of police abusing their power. This implies that police officers have a broad degree of discretion for prioritizing personal interests over the interests of the communities they are supposed to serve.
The issue of exceeding authority or power abuse is pervasive among police chiefs and their subordinates, as evidenced by the criminal charges against the ex-Minister of Internal Affairs Turgumbayev, who has been recently detained under such suspicions. Official crime statistics report around 900 cases of power misuse annually in police pre-trial investigations. Informal arrangements lead to superior officers issuing orders that override established laws. This highlights weak accountability and the system's lack of strict oversight mechanisms. High police discretion is also evident in the prevalence of corruption cases, with police implicated in 47% of all reported instances in 2018, making corruption one of the top problems within the structure.
Scholars attribute this issue to the absence of political will to interfere. More precisely, illegalities are tolerated in exchange for police loyalty needed for the regime's survival. At the same time, President Tokayev continues to voice the need to hold accountable those leaders who are either incapable or unwilling to ensure their subordinates adhere to discipline. Scholars argue that it is an instance of "decoupling," divergence of official statements from the state of implicit compromise between the MIA and presidential office, Akorda.
3. Lastly, publicly resonant human stories reveal the police inefficiency characterized by low professionalism and a disregard for victimized citizens. The reliance on vertical accountability allows these issues to be overlooked, as the system lacks adequate quality checks and vigorous performance evaluations. Traditionally, law enforcement agencies have relied on quantitative metrics for evaluating police effectiveness. MIA tends to prioritize favourable reports focusing on lower crime rates and the number of apprehended criminals rather than substantial eradication of crimes, all to maintain a positive image with Akorda. This reflects a bureaucratic rather than a human-centred approach.
On the one hand, the absence of emphasis on quality has resulted in structural mismanagement. As it has been exposed later in public discussions, police occupation was of low prestige, which directly affects motivation. Police workers were the least paid among all law enforcement agencies, with officers receiving around 110,000 KZT for their hard work, contributing to a high turnover rate of around 12,000 officers annually. In addition, for the past ten years, there has been a fundamental issue of inadequate professional preparation of workers, as nearly 80% of annual recruits underwent short courses at designated educational preparation centres rather than graduating from specialized higher education.
It is unsurprising that in the year Ten was murdered, only 21% of the 4,000 victimization survey respondents reported crimes committed against them to the police, with well more than half of them being dissatisfied because of the police's inability to apprehend offenders, lack of adequate measures taken, inability to return stolen property, and police indifference.
On the other hand, traditional accountability has failed to consider victims' welfare, with no systemic interest in public perception or feedback. This approach has centred solely on enforcing laws and maintaining order, thereby neglecting procedural justice, which emphasizes such aspects as citizen voice, respect, neutrality, transparency, and consistency in police practices apart from effectiveness. In contrast, public social accountability can effectively expose the details of victim experiences and police performance. As analyzed in our previous article, it is through the stories of female victims that we reveal gender disparity in the treatment of victims.
In Kazakhstan, low trust in the police can be defined as people's reluctance to seek police help, primarily due to a belief in their ineffectiveness and fear of interacting with them. This perception is formed by personal experiences, observations of others, media reports of police misconduct, and the overall perception of authorities. In 30 years of the country's independence, three key points of our shared experiences have shaped a prevailing view that the well-being of citizens is not the police priority.
1. The public has witnessed numerous instances of abusive treatment of citizens by police. This is because, historically, the police have prioritized supporting the government's interests and practised brutality with impunity.
Under the Soviet regime, the police served the political elite and maintained the existing order by suppressing public protests and civilian opposition, as the 1986 Jeltoqsan reminds us. This Soviet legacy influenced the modern Kazakhstani police as an institution. Dr. Erika Marat, a professor at the National Defense University in Washington and an expert on police reform, claims that in the post-Soviet space, now-independent authorities continue to favour such police loyalty to the government, keeping them as an instrument in their hands. Fundamentally, the working style of the police that serves this purpose has been shaped over decades, resulting in deeply ingrained structural and operational arrangements that find their expression today.
The collective consciousness of Kazakhstani society stores fresh memories of the police shooting Zhanaozen oil workers during their strike in December 2011. More recently, in 2019-2020, Almaty and Astana saw an unprecedented wave of protests following the presidential transition. Human rights activists observed instances of harsh police detentions and excessive force used in response to the assembly of numerous civilian groups to demand political reforms. Such practices as forcefully transporting individuals in police vans and surrounding activists in a ring during winter were heavily criticized in the media. Among the reasons for such police attitude were the unsanctioned nature of the protests and the affiliation of some protesters with the opposition group "DVK", acknowledged as an extremist movement in the country. Yet, as protests represent an exercise of citizens' right to peaceful assembly, the perception of the police more as a feared power structure than as a protector of citizens was further solidified. This was evident in a 2021 sociological survey of 24,152 respondents regarding trust in law enforcement, in which many respondents frequently used the following words about police mistreatment: 'bribes,' 'fear,' 'anxiety,' 'apprehension,' 'arrogance,' 'rudeness,' 'impoliteness,' and 'cruelty.'
2. People perceive police corruption as a habitual phenomenon of their day-to-day lives, and news media routinely feature stories of police abusing their power. This implies that police officers have a broad degree of discretion for prioritizing personal interests over the interests of the communities they are supposed to serve.
The issue of exceeding authority or power abuse is pervasive among police chiefs and their subordinates, as evidenced by the criminal charges against the ex-Minister of Internal Affairs Turgumbayev, who has been recently detained under such suspicions. Official crime statistics report around 900 cases of power misuse annually in police pre-trial investigations. Informal arrangements lead to superior officers issuing orders that override established laws. This highlights weak accountability and the system's lack of strict oversight mechanisms. High police discretion is also evident in the prevalence of corruption cases, with police implicated in 47% of all reported instances in 2018, making corruption one of the top problems within the structure.
Scholars attribute this issue to the absence of political will to interfere. More precisely, illegalities are tolerated in exchange for police loyalty needed for the regime's survival. At the same time, President Tokayev continues to voice the need to hold accountable those leaders who are either incapable or unwilling to ensure their subordinates adhere to discipline. Scholars argue that it is an instance of "decoupling," divergence of official statements from the state of implicit compromise between the MIA and presidential office, Akorda.
3. Lastly, publicly resonant human stories reveal the police inefficiency characterized by low professionalism and a disregard for victimized citizens. The reliance on vertical accountability allows these issues to be overlooked, as the system lacks adequate quality checks and vigorous performance evaluations. Traditionally, law enforcement agencies have relied on quantitative metrics for evaluating police effectiveness. MIA tends to prioritize favourable reports focusing on lower crime rates and the number of apprehended criminals rather than substantial eradication of crimes, all to maintain a positive image with Akorda. This reflects a bureaucratic rather than a human-centred approach.
On the one hand, the absence of emphasis on quality has resulted in structural mismanagement. As it has been exposed later in public discussions, police occupation was of low prestige, which directly affects motivation. Police workers were the least paid among all law enforcement agencies, with officers receiving around 110,000 KZT for their hard work, contributing to a high turnover rate of around 12,000 officers annually. In addition, for the past ten years, there has been a fundamental issue of inadequate professional preparation of workers, as nearly 80% of annual recruits underwent short courses at designated educational preparation centres rather than graduating from specialized higher education.
It is unsurprising that in the year Ten was murdered, only 21% of the 4,000 victimization survey respondents reported crimes committed against them to the police, with well more than half of them being dissatisfied because of the police's inability to apprehend offenders, lack of adequate measures taken, inability to return stolen property, and police indifference.
On the other hand, traditional accountability has failed to consider victims' welfare, with no systemic interest in public perception or feedback. This approach has centred solely on enforcing laws and maintaining order, thereby neglecting procedural justice, which emphasizes such aspects as citizen voice, respect, neutrality, transparency, and consistency in police practices apart from effectiveness. In contrast, public social accountability can effectively expose the details of victim experiences and police performance. As analyzed in our previous article, it is through the stories of female victims that we reveal gender disparity in the treatment of victims.
Shift to Service Policing
For the government of Kazakhstan, understanding how to enhance public trust has evolved with time. Public trust is a multifaceted phenomenon consisting of numerous components like effectiveness, fairness, integrity, transparency, community engagement, competence, and responsiveness. Despite the effort, the 2019-2024 roadmaps outlining the strategy for the MIA reforms did not uniformly achieve significant improvements across all areas.
1. As a response to the societal pressure caused by Ten's death, MIA adopted the 2019-2021 Modernization Roadmap. While the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a traditionally closed and conservative institution, initiated engagement with civil society in preparing reforms, activists' capacity for real influence remained limited. Of 112 recommendations by the "We Demand MIA Reforms" experts, only about 20 were included in this Roadmap.
Instead of significant conceptual changes in enhancing police service quality, the primary focus of this Roadmap was on organizational improvements and requests for more funding. The key outcomes included reducing staff by 11%, updating senior management by 60%, and increasing compensation by 20-65%. Additionally, online police services expanded to 83.3%, MIA educational institutions were halved to prioritize quality, unplanned evaluations of police officers were conducted, and 252 citizen reception centers were opened.
Despite these changes, the Center for Analytical Research and Evaluation the Center for Analytical Research and Evaluation reported fluctuations in the institutional efficiency metric measuring citizen interaction, which ranged between 62.9 and 74 from 2018 to 2022, indicating varying levels of efficiency from low to middle. In fact, over the past four years, MIA has seen its ranking drop from 10 to 17 among other governmental institutions, highlighting that improvements in police-citizen relationship have yet to show meaningful progress. In short, this Roadmap was just the first small step towards improving police service quality. The way in which police mishandled the 2022 Qandy Qantar (Bloody January) forced Akorda to demand much more thorough police reform.
2. The updated MIA Development Roadmap for 2022-2024, adopted in September 2022, has been notable for incorporating more tangible steps toward transitioning to a service model of policing, with clear goals to increase trust, improve the feeling of security, and enhance the interaction experience. However, we have seen a divergence between the outward institutional support for reforms and internal practices.
Measures intended to improve police service to citizens included revising evaluation criteria for police performance, activating the work of the public council and advisory bodies at police departments, and developing step-by-step algorithms for various scenarios officers might encounter. In practice, although successful pilot projects were implemented, they did not significantly impact people's experiences with the police.
In fact, both roadmaps consist of vague, generalized measures that make it challenging to hold law-enforcement bodies accountable. Furthermore, there are no clear guidelines to modernize organizational thinking, behaviour, and strategies crucial for improving police-citizen relationship. While these measures have introduced positive changes, they can also be viewed as tools of bureaucratic inertia within the MIA, resistant to systemic changes. Despite calls for reform and criticism from Akorda, the new service model of police activity remains largely unknown outside of specialist circles, and MIA appears resistant to the changes.
In addition to the women's stories that vividly demonstrate ongoing police mistreatment, efforts to build public trust were severely undermined by instances of cruel torture during the 2022 January events. Just one month later, the Prosecutor General announced receiving 170 citizen reports of torture. One of the victims, Timur Kim, recalls being subjected to electric shocks, having a plastic bag placed over his head, and being beaten with bottles of water. Such incidents make it evident that the police have not undergone significant modernization.
Police-Victim Interaction: An Open Question
Even though the direction towards service policing has been set, officers still lack fairness, respect, and attentiveness in their interactions with citizens. According to Dr. Marat reforms should ideally transform the police’s relationship with society, driven not by MIA alone but through collaborative dialogue and engagement with civil society.
The new “Concept Ensuring Public Safety in Partnership with Society for 2024-2028”, developed with active involvement from NGOs, independent experts, international organizations, and interested government bodies, may signal a fresh approach. It involves shared responsibility between the police, other state bodies, and non-governmental organizations.
This strategic document is distinct in its problem-oriented focus. It identifies and analyzes key social issues such as protecting women and children and cybersecurity, outlining specific steps and goals for addressing them. This ensures more direct responsiveness. The concept also sets human-centrism as its key principle, though the success of these reforms is uncertain due to the complexity of updating systemic priorities that historically may not have centred on victim experiences. Ensuring the well-being and safety of victims should be of the highest interest to every police officer.
Efforts to improve the quality of personnel include integrity checks, a focus on meritocracy, and the development of soft skills. Automating regular citizen evaluations of police work is another method to enhance service quality. Still, there is no mention of well-designed disciplinary measures to deter misconduct.
In fostering changes in organizational ideology and culture, responsibility is shared between senior officials and instructors at educational institutions. The measures include seminars and training sessions, as outlined in the document. However, there are two shortcomings to name. First, the framing: the concept focuses on improvement without acknowledging behavioural risks associated with unprofessional and inappropriate conduct in handling sensitive cases. Second, the proposed initiatives are not integrated into the formal educational program. Thus, we do not observe a fundamentally new approach that incorporates human rights-centered education, which is essential for a genuine cultural shift.
OSCE guidelines on human rights education for law enforcement officials underline the importance of officers recognizing their ting victims respectfully, acknowledging the harm they may have suffered, and protecting their rights are all crucial. This approach enhances officers' ability to respect and protect the rights of others, thereby strengthening the relationships between law enforcement officials and the communities they serve.
Currently, this transition appears to be driven by external stimuli—social demands and Akorda’s agenda of Zhana (New) Kazakhstan—rather than the internal motivation of MIA chiefs and their subordinates. For changes to be effective, internal understanding and willingness are necessary. Without it, success will rely on constant civilian oversight to maintain high standards of professionalism, integrity, and accountability, while also promoting non-discrimination, inclusion, dignity, and respect within their regular processes and procedures.
For the government of Kazakhstan, understanding how to enhance public trust has evolved with time. Public trust is a multifaceted phenomenon consisting of numerous components like effectiveness, fairness, integrity, transparency, community engagement, competence, and responsiveness. Despite the effort, the 2019-2024 roadmaps outlining the strategy for the MIA reforms did not uniformly achieve significant improvements across all areas.
1. As a response to the societal pressure caused by Ten's death, MIA adopted the 2019-2021 Modernization Roadmap. While the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a traditionally closed and conservative institution, initiated engagement with civil society in preparing reforms, activists' capacity for real influence remained limited. Of 112 recommendations by the "We Demand MIA Reforms" experts, only about 20 were included in this Roadmap.
Instead of significant conceptual changes in enhancing police service quality, the primary focus of this Roadmap was on organizational improvements and requests for more funding. The key outcomes included reducing staff by 11%, updating senior management by 60%, and increasing compensation by 20-65%. Additionally, online police services expanded to 83.3%, MIA educational institutions were halved to prioritize quality, unplanned evaluations of police officers were conducted, and 252 citizen reception centers were opened.
Despite these changes, the Center for Analytical Research and Evaluation the Center for Analytical Research and Evaluation reported fluctuations in the institutional efficiency metric measuring citizen interaction, which ranged between 62.9 and 74 from 2018 to 2022, indicating varying levels of efficiency from low to middle. In fact, over the past four years, MIA has seen its ranking drop from 10 to 17 among other governmental institutions, highlighting that improvements in police-citizen relationship have yet to show meaningful progress. In short, this Roadmap was just the first small step towards improving police service quality. The way in which police mishandled the 2022 Qandy Qantar (Bloody January) forced Akorda to demand much more thorough police reform.
2. The updated MIA Development Roadmap for 2022-2024, adopted in September 2022, has been notable for incorporating more tangible steps toward transitioning to a service model of policing, with clear goals to increase trust, improve the feeling of security, and enhance the interaction experience. However, we have seen a divergence between the outward institutional support for reforms and internal practices.
Measures intended to improve police service to citizens included revising evaluation criteria for police performance, activating the work of the public council and advisory bodies at police departments, and developing step-by-step algorithms for various scenarios officers might encounter. In practice, although successful pilot projects were implemented, they did not significantly impact people's experiences with the police.
In fact, both roadmaps consist of vague, generalized measures that make it challenging to hold law-enforcement bodies accountable. Furthermore, there are no clear guidelines to modernize organizational thinking, behaviour, and strategies crucial for improving police-citizen relationship. While these measures have introduced positive changes, they can also be viewed as tools of bureaucratic inertia within the MIA, resistant to systemic changes. Despite calls for reform and criticism from Akorda, the new service model of police activity remains largely unknown outside of specialist circles, and MIA appears resistant to the changes.
In addition to the women's stories that vividly demonstrate ongoing police mistreatment, efforts to build public trust were severely undermined by instances of cruel torture during the 2022 January events. Just one month later, the Prosecutor General announced receiving 170 citizen reports of torture. One of the victims, Timur Kim, recalls being subjected to electric shocks, having a plastic bag placed over his head, and being beaten with bottles of water. Such incidents make it evident that the police have not undergone significant modernization.
Police-Victim Interaction: An Open Question
Even though the direction towards service policing has been set, officers still lack fairness, respect, and attentiveness in their interactions with citizens. According to Dr. Marat reforms should ideally transform the police’s relationship with society, driven not by MIA alone but through collaborative dialogue and engagement with civil society.
The new “Concept Ensuring Public Safety in Partnership with Society for 2024-2028”, developed with active involvement from NGOs, independent experts, international organizations, and interested government bodies, may signal a fresh approach. It involves shared responsibility between the police, other state bodies, and non-governmental organizations.
This strategic document is distinct in its problem-oriented focus. It identifies and analyzes key social issues such as protecting women and children and cybersecurity, outlining specific steps and goals for addressing them. This ensures more direct responsiveness. The concept also sets human-centrism as its key principle, though the success of these reforms is uncertain due to the complexity of updating systemic priorities that historically may not have centred on victim experiences. Ensuring the well-being and safety of victims should be of the highest interest to every police officer.
Efforts to improve the quality of personnel include integrity checks, a focus on meritocracy, and the development of soft skills. Automating regular citizen evaluations of police work is another method to enhance service quality. Still, there is no mention of well-designed disciplinary measures to deter misconduct.
In fostering changes in organizational ideology and culture, responsibility is shared between senior officials and instructors at educational institutions. The measures include seminars and training sessions, as outlined in the document. However, there are two shortcomings to name. First, the framing: the concept focuses on improvement without acknowledging behavioural risks associated with unprofessional and inappropriate conduct in handling sensitive cases. Second, the proposed initiatives are not integrated into the formal educational program. Thus, we do not observe a fundamentally new approach that incorporates human rights-centered education, which is essential for a genuine cultural shift.
OSCE guidelines on human rights education for law enforcement officials underline the importance of officers recognizing their ting victims respectfully, acknowledging the harm they may have suffered, and protecting their rights are all crucial. This approach enhances officers' ability to respect and protect the rights of others, thereby strengthening the relationships between law enforcement officials and the communities they serve.
Currently, this transition appears to be driven by external stimuli—social demands and Akorda’s agenda of Zhana (New) Kazakhstan—rather than the internal motivation of MIA chiefs and their subordinates. For changes to be effective, internal understanding and willingness are necessary. Without it, success will rely on constant civilian oversight to maintain high standards of professionalism, integrity, and accountability, while also promoting non-discrimination, inclusion, dignity, and respect within their regular processes and procedures.
