MIA Opens New Joint Operations Center

TBILISI, Georgia - The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) of Georgia opened a new Joint Operations Center in Tbilisi on Tuesday to better prevent and react to crime using modern approaches and technologies through a new police operations command center.

The opening ceremony was led by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Giorgi Mgebrishvili, who noted the center was unique and has no global equivalent.

“The center is multifunctional and covers monitoring, analytics, unified management and support for the police forces,” Mgebrishvili stated. “This innovation will increase the safety and security of the population as well as increasing police efficiency and the quality of investigations.”

Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili also delivered a speech at the ceremony and noted the project was one of the most large-scale in terms of technological progress.

The PM named the center a startup in the area of technological reinforcement for the police, adding the State has thoroughly examined the experience of foreign countries and attempted to adapt the concept in line with the needs of Georgia. 

Kvirikashvili said the center would become a centralized hub of technologies which exist in the police sector, aiming to manage a joint monitoring system by uniting existing databases within the MIA system and ensuring timely analysis of relevant data to provide specific information to patrol-officers and investigators.

“By opening the center, we launch our rapid reform plan based on high technologies that seeks to change the methodology of law-enforcing actions, enabling us to be ready for any challenge," the PM stated, adding that the center would lead to Georgia's inclusion in the global network and would allow it to become an international ally in combatting terrorism, drugs and human trafficking.

Only a handful of developed foreign countries have such centers, offering a modern approach to identifying, eliminating and preventing crime.

According to the MIA, the center will also reduce the number of road accidents through better regulation of traffic, as police will be able to respond more quickly to traffic incidences and violations.

By Thea Morrison

Edited by K. R. Davies