Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi spoke at the Promotional Event for Migration Advisory Vehicles held at Ankara University’s Faculty of Science. After the event, Çiftçi answered questions about the security measures being taken in and around schools during the new academic year.
Çiftçi said the ministries of Family and Social Services, Labor and Social Security, Youth and Sports, National Education, Justice, Interior, and Health had prepared a joint protocol for school security. Çiftçi said the protocol was expected to be signed in the coming days and that its implementation aimed to raise security measures at schools to the highest level.
31,000 staff will work in school grounds
Çiftçi announced that 31,000 grounds staff had been employed with the support of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. He said the staff reported to provincial governorships would work in school grounds for the first time during this academic year, based on demand.
Çiftçi said risk-based planning was being carried out for school security and that schools had been divided into first-, second-, third- and fourth-degree risk categories. He said police officers were assigned to schools in the first and second risk categories, while coordination officers were assigned to schools in the third and fourth categories.
Çiftçi said security, public order, narcotics and juvenile units would increase their inspections around schools in the coming days. He said people with no connection to schools would be removed from the area, internet cafes and gaming halls would be inspected, and checks on student transport vehicles would be intensified.
Çiftçi announced that 2,800 handheld detectors had been distributed to personnel working in school grounds and said the equipment would be used to conduct searches in suspicious situations.
Çiftçi announces figures from Safe School operations
Çiftçi said two major operations had been carried out as part of the Safe School efforts. He said the first operation targeted criminal organizations attempting to recruit members online and was conducted in 48 provinces against 1,008 suspects.
Çiftçi said the second operation was conducted at 78 locations against 2,447 suspects and targeted new-generation criminal organizations and street gangs. He said provincial governorships, chief public prosecutor’s offices, police and gendarmerie units worked in coordination during the operations.
Scope of Migration Advisory Vehicles to be expanded
Çiftçi said the Presidency of Migration Management had previously had 375 Mobile Migration Vehicles in its inventory. He said some vehicles used for the questioning and fingerprinting of foreign nationals during efforts to combat irregular migration had been converted into Migration Advisory Vehicles.
Çiftçi announced that 42 Migration Advisory Vehicles were serving in 10 provinces and that the number of provinces was planned to increase to 40 and the number of vehicles to 75 by the end of the year. Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Sakarya, Eskişehir, Konya, Antalya, Bursa, Karabük and Kütahya are among the provinces served.
Çiftçi said international students could complete their fingerprinting and address registration procedures at Migration Advisory Vehicles and that the practice was planned to be expanded at universities. He said the aim was to make procedures faster and easier in line with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s target of 1 million international students.
Çiftçi said the vehicles also served sick, elderly and disabled foreign nationals, as well as disadvantaged people unable to travel to migration management offices, adding that procedures could be completed at people’s homes or wherever they were located.
Deputy Interior Minister Mehmet Cangir, Ankara Governor Yakup Canbolat, President of Migration Management Muhammet Selami Yazıcı and Ankara University Rector Prof. Dr. Necdet Ünüvar also attended the event.
