2017 – a year of success of the People Public Security Forces

• Ministry of Public Security’s leader works with Tay Ninh Police
• "Hero of the People's Armed Forces" title conferred on outstanding public security organizations and individuals
• Ministry of Public Security holds meeting with retired high-ranking police officers
• Prime Minister of Cambodia receives Vietnamese Minister of Public Security To Lam

2017 witnessed dramatic changes in the global, regional and domestic situations that directly affected the security and national interests of Vietnam. Alongside basic advantages in performing their main mission of ensuring security and order of the country, the forces met even more difficulties, challenges and pressures than in 2016.

2017 – a year of success of the People Public Security Forces.

Nevertheless, all staff and assistant agencies under the Central Public Security Party Committee and the Ministry of Public Security reported that 2017 was a successful year of the Public Security Forces. The forces, under the sound leadership of the Party and State, with good coordination of ministries, branches and localities, and supports from the people, excellently implemented the slogan "Proactive, Disciplined, Responsible, Effective" and accomplished their main tasks of ensuring political security and maintaining social order and safety, contributing to creating a peaceful, stable environment for the country’s development.

Nine major achievements of the Public Security Forces are listed below:

Firstly, the Public Security Forces have better performed their function of advising the Party and the State on strategic issues related to political stability and socio-economic development and foreign relations.

The Ministry of Public Security has advised the Politburo to issue Directive 12 on ensuring economic security, which is considered as one of the most effective and excellent advice over the past year.

Minister To Lam delivering a key note speech at a National Assembly's meeting.

In Particular, the Ministry of Public Security recommended solutions to the Government to promoting socio-economic development, gearing up economic restructuring and equitization of State-owned enterprises, stabilizing the macro economy, ensuring social security.

It also aided the National Assembly Government in amending and promulgating a number of legal documents with the aim of intensifying the State management over security and order situations.

Secondly, the Public Security Forces have implemented drastic measures to protect absolute security and safety of the country's important political events, especially the APEC Year 2017 events with a focus on the APEC Summit Week, held in Danang from Nov. 6 to 11.

The work of ensuring security and order during the APEC 2017 High Level Week was highly appreciated by the people and international friends.

Police force ensures absolute safety for APEC's events.

Thirdly, the Ministry of Public Security has been active and proactive in ensuring national security, and reached all set targets. The forces have ensured absolute political stability and security in the country, creating favorable conditions for socio-economic development activities.

The Public Security Forces also discovered and defeated all plots, sabotage activities of hostile forces. They also took many effective measures to maintain internal political security, cultural security, ideological security, information security, cyber security, economic security, social security and security in strategic regions of North West, Central Highlands and South West.

Fourthly, the police force has met all targets, with some surpassing the plans, assigned by the National Assembly in preventing and controlling crimes. Over the past year, the police force has obtained large achievements in the fight against crimes, creating a safe, secure and healthy environment for all people.

The force launched many high-intensity campaigns in 2017 to fight crimes. Most cases relating to dangerous gangs, criminal groups and crimes against children were discovered, and successfully investigated and solved by the police force.

According to official statics, the criminal situation has been controlled while the criminal rate reduced 3.02%, over 80.41% of the criminal cases were invested and solved. Especially, the number of the solved criminal cases  exceeded 10.41% compared to the targets assigned by the National Assembly.

During 2017, the police force also discovered and handled 17,159 economic cases, up by 336 cases against 2016; 185 corruption cases; 3,945 smuggling cases, up by 626 cases from 2016; 604 cases of tax evasion; 19,397 environmental offences, up by 1,757 from last year. The force has also arrested 32,950 suspects, up by 3,949 suspects from 2016, relating to 21,471 drug-related cases.

Fifthly, the Public Security Forces have successfully improved the efficiency of its State management over security and order, especially in the management of residency and household registrations, and foreigners' residency in the country. It also well controlled the use and storage of weapons, explosives and support instruments, and managed firms doing business in restricted fields.

The force launched many high-intensity campaigns in 2017 to fight crimes.

The force also effectively implemented its function of State management of traffic order and safety. As a result, in 2017, the number of traffic accidents was curbed in all 3 categories: number of accidents (down by 6.32% in comparison to 2016), number of deaths (down by 4.33%) and the number of injuries (down by 10.81%).

Meanwhile, fire prevention and firefighting and rescue work continued to be strengthened in 2017 while criminal verdict execution, custody and temporary detention were all well performed by the force, contributing to creating positive changes in social order and safety.

Sixthly, the legal and administrative reforms and judicial work have achieved many important results in the last year. The Ministry of Public Security focused on building and improving the legal system on security and social order while successfully completing the Law on Guard Force; Law on Management and Use of Weapons, Explosives and Supporting Tools and amendments and supplements to the 2015 Penal Code.

Administrative reforms in the field of State management of security and order were also underlined by the ministry, creating more favorable conditions for people and enterprises to deal with administrative procedures and perform daily and business activities.

Seventhly, the coordination between the Ministry of Public Security and other ministries, branches and localities in implementing its core tasks of ensuring security, social order and promoting the movement "All people protecting national security" saw great development and efficiency in 2017.

Thanks to good coordination with the relevant forces, agencies and the movement of "All people protecting national security," the Public Security Forces settled many complicated cases of security and order at the local level.

Eighthly, the Central Public Security Party Committee and the Ministry of Public Security have issued many guidelines and measures to strengthen the work of Party building and building of clean and strong People Public Security Forces; to concentrate the implementation of the Resolution on Party building and reorganization adopted by the fourth meeting of the Party Central Committee (12th tenure); to direct relevant forces and agencies to develop the project "Some issues relating to further reorganizing and streamlining the Ministry of Public Security for effectiveness and efficiency" in association with tightening the observance of the disciplines and regulations of the People Public Security Forces.

As a result, 109,206 collectives and individuals of the forces have been recognized and awarded by the Party, the State, the Ministry of Public Security and authorities at all levels.

Ninthly, the ministry continued to renovate and improve the quality of performance of its key functions: advice and leadership in line with practices and with a focus on the local level.. Foreign affairs and international cooperation; strategic research, scientific research, theoretical research, inspection, cipher work were all well performed in 2017.

The sectors of finance, investment planning, logistics and techniques gained positive results while following the motto "Proactive in supplies, efficiency, thrift."

In short, the Public Security Forces excellently fulfilled their tasks of ensuring political security and maintaining social order and safety in 2017, contributing to creating a peaceful, stable environment for the country’s development.

2018 is a very significant year - the key time to the implementation of the Resolution of the 12th National Party Congress. In addition to the basic opportunities, the work of ensuring security and order as well as the work of building the forces are facing many difficulties and challenges while hostile forces continue to carry out their strategy of "peaceful evolution" in the country, and non-traditional security elements, natural disasters, epidemics, climate change, environmental pollution, terrorism, cyber security will further pose huge challenges to the cause of protecting and developing the Fatherland.

The criminal situation tends to be complex as their methods are more sophisticated and dangerous.

In order to firmly ensure national security, to make positive changes in social order and safety in 2018 and subsequent years, the Public Security Forces will continue promoting their glorious traditions and past achievements; constantly strive and determine to accomplish excellently all tasks assigned by the Party, State and the people, contributing actively to protecting national independence and territorial sovereignty, maintaining political stability, and creating a more peaceful, secure, safe and healthy environment for economic, cultural, social developments and foreign affairs of the country.