For the first time, such law enforcement structures as the river police were created at the end of the 19th century as a special body for the protection of public order in the water spaces of St. Petersburg.
After the October Revolution, on July 25, 1918, a decree of the People’s Commissars “On the creation of a water police” was issued, therefore this date is considered to be the day of its creation. In connection with the decree of the People’s Commissars of April 3, 1919, the entire militia is transferred to state funding.
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, it became necessary to create centralised water police. It was created on 07/27/1942 – the water police was tasked with protecting public order, combating criminality and theft of socialist property on water transport.
There is not quite enough information about the river police as part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, it is known that it was practically subordinate to the Transport Police Department of the GUM of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR, but in 1957 the water transport police was transferred from the union to the republican subordination. Which led to the entry of the water police into the system of local police departments.
Little is known about the river police in Kremenchuk, there are few employees who worked directly in the water police, from the memoirs of the inspector of the inspection of the juvenile affairs, retired police major Solokha Vladimir Makrovich, it is known that in 1941-1945 1 employee worked in the river police of Kremenchuk, exhibited as a guard policeman. From 1946-1947, in the river police of Kremenchuk, which was called the NKVD, there were already 4 employees working on the water, the chiefs were Litvinenko Nikolai Vasilyevich, Chernichko V.M.
In 1973, the Ukrainian Department of Internal Affairs in Transport was created – where air (airports), rail and water transport were united, and since 1973 the police were renamed the Linear Police Department in the river port of Kremenchuk, which was subordinate to the Dnieper Police Department in water transport in the city of . Kyiv and the personnel of 17 employees, together with the linear police station of the Svetlovodsk pier, at that time the department had such vehicles – a motorcycle, a Moskvich car, a Progress boat, the police was located on a wooden landing stage on the Dnieper River in the area of the present river station.
In 1980, employees of the linear branch in the river port of Kremenchuk took an active part in the protection of public order at the Olympic Games in such cities as Kanev, Borispol, Simferopol – Solokha V.M., Goncharenko V.I. Stelmashchuk E.F. for which they were personally awarded by the Minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR Shcholokov with nominal gifts – for servicing charter letter government aircraft.
In the same period, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR was noted as the best employee of the department Chernov V.I. who personally detained a particularly dangerous criminal who had escaped from ITK No. 69. Chernov V.I. shared his experience with employees throughout Ukraine.
From 1973 to 1983, the department consisted of 23 employees, the head until 1986 was police major Yalisovetsky A, A. Since 1986, the department was headed by police major Kostyuk V.F.
The linear department worked both on water and on land, for which in 1989 it was awarded for the best performance in the operational and service activities of the Ukrainian Department of Internal Affairs on the transport of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Ukrainian SSR.
In 1986, water police officers took part in the liquidation of the consequences of the accident at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, of which 2 officers and 11 sergeants, one of them, V. Konko, is no longer alive.
The main service task at that time was the Adamovka pier in the Cherkasy region and the Mishurin Rog pier in the Dnipropetrovsk region, the distance between them was about 150 kilometres. About 42 rockets, meteors, and ships were met per day, the passenger flow was 3-4 thousand people a day. They were also engaged in solving crimes – for example, several buoys were set up on Vlasovka – this crime was solved in a day, Two criminals were sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Crimes in water transport were detected and prevented by the personnel of the department, more of them were detected when crossing cargo barges along the Dnieper River. In the Zhovnino region, an armed attack was made on a barge that was going with agricultural cargo to the port of Odesa, the police officers in the Kremenchuk river port competently and quickly worked and detained three armed robbers.
In general, the water police serviced tourist ships for the protection of public order directly on the ships, the safety of goods and other passenger traffic. Poaching prevention was a secondary task of the Line Office in the river port of Kremenchuk.
In 1985, the river police moved to the premises of the new river station, which was put into operation and in the construction of which the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, as it became known, was directly involved, that is, allocated funds for the construction.
At the same time, in 1986, police lieutenant colonel Cherevko A.G. became the head of the local police department in the river port of Kremenchuk.
After recognition In 1995, the water police, and airports were disbanded by order of the independent state of Ukraine and subordinated directly to the regional ATC.
The linear police point at the Svetlovodsk pier was liquidated due to lack of funds. Of the 32 employees of the water police, 28 remained; the further reduction was more and more.
In 1999, police lieutenant colonel Parsyak A.V. became the head of the LP in the river port of Kremenchuk. At the same time, the duty unit was reduced, the inspector of the Economic Crime Control Department, the inspector of the Kyrgyz Republic and the police were evicted from the river station in connection with its transfer to private ownership.
From 2003 to 2008, the river police was headed by police major Bulin V.V.
From 2008 to 2010, it was headed by police major Tereli S.M.
Since February 2010, senior police lieutenant Martysh O.Yu. has been appointed head of the line department in the river port of Kremenchuk.
The main tasks of the water police:
- Ensuring the personal security of citizens, protecting their rights, freedoms and legitimate interests.
- Prevention of offences and their termination.
- Fight against poaching.
- Security and maintenance of public order:
- Identification, disclosure and investigation of crimes, search for persons who committed them.
- Ensuring the safety of navigation.
- Protection of all types of property from criminal encroachments.
- Fulfilment, within the limits of its competence, of administrative penalties.
- Participation in the provision of social and legal assistance to citizens.
- Assistance, within the limits of competence, to state bodies, enterprises, institutions and organizations in the fulfilment of the duties assigned to them by law.
- Ensuring compliance with the law in the activities of employees of the department.
- Identification and documentation of facts of bribery and abuse of official position by employees of state fisheries inspections and other officials.
- Analysis and forecasting of criminogenic processes in the service area and timely informing the interested authorities about them.
- Identification of the causes and conditions conducive to the commission of violations of the law, and taking measures to eliminate them.
Author: Martysh Alexander Yuryevich, ex-head of the linear police department in the river port of Kremenchug
Source of information: UMVS of Ukraine in Poltava region – official website