Tourist police units to be set up in 2018 World Cup Russia host cities

MOSCOW, April 2. /TASS/. Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev has ordered tourist police units be set up in host cities of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, the Ministry's Spokesperson Irina Volk told TASS. "Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev has ordered some of the ministry’s agencies to form special tourist police units," she said. "According to the minister’s decision, tourist police units will be established in St. Petersburg, Kazan and Sochi and included in the regional patrol guard before May 5," Volk added. The ministry’s spokesperson added that special police detachments consisting of officers who are capable of communicating in foreign languages would be created in other World Cup host cities to ensure a round-the-clock response to any incident. "In the near future, the Interior Ministry’s regional agencies will approve relevant regulations and introduce the necessary changes in the documents. The aforementioned units are going to include officers who are skilled in foreign languages. If necessary, staff will undergo additional courses," Volk added. The newly formed tourist police’s priorities will be patrolling public places where foreign football fans will gather during the FIFA World Cup, assisting them in various matters and accepting their requests should any infractions take place. As for Moscow, tourist police have been operating in the Russian capital since 2014. The Moscow tourist police officers, who are fluent in English, French, Spanish and Chinese, predominantly ensure public security in pedestrian areas popular with foreign tourists. Read more