Patrol police of Georgian MIA already differs in nothing from "pre-revolutionary" GAI (State Traffic Inspectorate)

Patrol units stop citizens at night without any grounds, impose fines for no reason, and should anybody complain, they can detain a person "for hooliganism," runs an article in the "Alia" Georgian newspaper.

It is necessary to note here that the police patrol units (which appeared in the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) in 2004 and quickly won sympathy among the population) is a child and one of positive achievements of the "Revolution of Roses."

Troubles with the patrol police started late in 2004, when patrolman Grigol Bashaleishvili shot dead Amiran Robakidze, 19. The police demonstrated a Kalashnikov, which was allegedly confiscated from the car with the victim and his friends. Later, under the pressure of the victim's family, mass media, the public and opposition, it was proved that the whole case was fabricated, and the policeman confessed that he had shot dead the unarmed person " incidentally, by inadvertency."

While recently ordinary MIA patrol policemen were expecting an increase of their wages, now nobody knows what "top secret" item of expenditures will be funded by the sum of 67 million laris (about 39.88 million US dollars) allocated from the state budget," the "Alia" newspaper writes.

In late 2006, information was spread among the public that the authorities were going to switch the "patrol" to "self-funding." According to the rumours, the fines that had sharply increased in comparison with the pre-revolutionary "State Traffic Inspectorate tariffs" should go to funding of the patrol police.

The range of the so-called "traffic violations" was also essentially expanded. For example, driving with a broken headlight threatens with a fine worth 15 laris (about 9 US dollars). If you are late with payment of the fine, additional fine can be imposed of 150 laris (about 90 US dollars) or 500 laris (about 298 US dollars), which depends on the size of the initial penalty, and the deprivation of the driving license "is near at hand," the "New Region" writes.