Alexander Kupatadze, September 2012

After the Rose Revolution of 2003, the new government of young reformers headed by Mikheil Saakashvili launched all-encompassing reform of the public sector. The police reform was one of the key pillars of this transition and was regarded as the most successful. Public confidence in more efficient police has increased and crime rates have gone down. On the other hand, various observers and international organizations have been criticising the authorities for using extrajudicial and extralegal tactics in anti-crime campaigns and concerns over human rights abuses have been rising.

The issue of police reform and policing is important for the general security environment. The studies in the field often focus on national security although the everyday security of the people is closely tied to criminality that threatens the physical integrity and welfare of the citizenry. Also, police themselves can be a threat to individual security.