Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Tsvetan Tsvetanov, has come up with a brand new idea to fight crime in the country by establishing a National Council for Crime Prevention.

The news was reported Monday by the BGNES news agency, informing the Minister has asked his colleagues to pass a decree for the establishment of such Council on grounds it is needed to improve coordination and partnership between law enforcement bodies.

The Council will serve as a link between the law enforcement institutions, the local authorities and NGOs working in the area of crime prevention. The new structure will be responsible for the implementation of the national policy of crime prevention; will organize research and issue reports on the dimensions and trends of crime activities in the country; will analyze existing practices and experiences, and will make recommendations on measures for crime prevention.

The new body will further propose to the Council of Ministers to develop documentation on issues related to crime prevention and, if needed, changes in the current national crime prevention strategy.

Tsvetanov, himself, will chair the Council, while its members will include, the Chief Secretary of the Interior, the Director of the Main Directorate National Police, the Director of the National Criminology Institute, the President of the Police Academy, one Deputy of the Ministers of Justice, of Social Policy and Labor, of Education, of Sports, the Chair of the State Agency for Child Protection, the Director of the National Drug Addiction Center at the cabinet, the Secretary of the National Commission for the Fight against Human Trafficking, the CEO of the Agency for Social Assistance, and the Chair of the National Association of Bulgarian Municipalities.

The Council will meet at least once a year to account for its activities and plan crime prevention in the following year.