State Inspector General presents newly-established investigative department
By Tsotne Pataraia
Thursday, October 31
Two days before the official launching of the investigative direction of the Office of State Inspector General, inspector Londa Toloraia gave a presentation pointing out the main goals and characteristics of the investigative department.
According to Toloraia, the investigative branch of the agency will start operating on November 1. State Inspector claims to have worked closely with other state agencies, the Public Defender's Office, international organizations and civil society to prepare the agency for the investigative function.
According to the State Inspector, the Investigation Department is staffed with a variety of experienced personnel selected based on the competition and is equipped with the equipment and tools necessary for investigation.
Within the first phase of the project, the offices of the State Inspectorate will locate only in Tbilisi and Kutaisi. There will be 16 investigators in the East and West Divisions. The 24-hour hotline number 199 will also start working from November 1.
The event was attended by PM Giorgi Gakharia, members of the executive and legislative governmental branches, representatives of the diplomatic corps, international organizations and NGOs.
Prime Minister Gakharia thanked ambassadors and international organizations for his support of democratic reforms in Georgia and said that the country still has a long way to go.
“The independent investigative mechanism and the State Inspectorate were one of the important components of the democratic reform that we all agreed on, and together we took this step with some effort. Our criminal justice system for certain offenses committed by law enforcement in the investigation represented a challenge, but we are convinced that since November, as soon as this mechanism is activated, this will be another strong step towards strengthening confidence in the law enforcement system and another step towards democratization of the country," said PM Gakharia.
Prime Minister thinks that the creation of the State Inspectorate is the most important step that has been taken in the law enforcement and justice systems over the past year.
The EU Ambassador to Georgia Carl Hartzell also commented on the launching of investigative direction. He thinks that the project is positive, but credibility and independence of it should be assured:
“When it comes to law enforcement, three components are important to me - surveillance, prevention, credible and independent investigation. Georgia has come a long way in improving the first two components, as we have learned from many experts who point to this fact. The flaws were always on the side of the investigation. What we have heard today is the launch of the Investigative Department of the State Inspectorate is very good news. It's good for human rights in Georgia and for gaining public trust when it comes to law enforcement. I wish Londa Toloraya and her team good luck," stated Carl Hartzell.
Beginning November 1, the Office of State Inspector General will start to execute general function - effective investigation of violent crimes committed by law enforcement and officials. Following the Law on State Inspectorate Service adopted by Parliament in 2018, the Personal Data Protection Inspector's Office has been established as a State Inspectorate since May 10, 2019. The transformation of the agency has been conditioned by newly acquired investigative powers of the office.
