District Police Officer Day in Russia Date in the current year: November 17, 2024

A district police officer is a police officer whose main task is to protect the rights of citizens living in a particular city district, as well as victims of crimes that took place in the said district. This role was first introduced in the Russian police in the 19th century; a district police officer (“okolotochny”) was responsible for public order enforcement in a particular neighborhood of a police precinct.

The post was abolished after the Russian Revolution but was reinstated in 1923, during the formation of a new system of internal affairs agencies. Today, there are over 48,000 district police officers in Russia. Their key tasks are protecting the rights and interests of citizens from criminal encroachments, preventing, detecting and investigating crimes, apprehending suspects, protecting public order, supervising persons on probation, and reducing the social impact of substance abuse.

District Police Officer Day, then known as District Militsiya Officer Day, was officially established in 2002. It is celebrated on November 17 because on this day in 1923, the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the RSFSR, commonly known as the NKVD, published instructions for district inspectors. After the Russian militsiya was officially transformed into the Russian police in 2011, the holiday received its current name. District Police Officer Day is marked with official events held at all police precincts, as well as at the Ministry of Internal Affairs headquarters.