Responding to claims from various directions that the public sector has accumulated too much "fat" over the years, which could be trimmed down, Belitšev said that the situation is somewhat different for the PPA.

Speaking to "Esimene stuudio" Thursday evening, the PPA chief said: "When I take a look at statistics from Eurostat statistics, these show we are already one of the thinnest police forces across Europe in terms of the number of officers per 100,000 inhabitants."

"For instance, if a 5-percent across-the-board cut were agreed for next year, it would spell layoffs and consequently fewer police officers, and less security. This is a highly risky decision in the current security situation," he added.

The 5 percent cut Belitšev mentioned would translate to around 225 layoffs in the PPA, he said.

"That is not an insignificant number," the PPA chief noted.

"It would truly impact security. As to the effects, we are currently in a situation where last year, there were a total of 1,000 hours when all patrols at the stations were fully occupied with call-outs."

"This means that there would have been no one left to send to any subsequent call-out. If we reduce the number of patrols, that total number of hours will go up," Belitšev went on.

This means the government's decision to instead task the Ministry of the Interior with cutting one-off costs within its domain is welcome, he added, saying cutting fixed costs in the PPA would automatically mean the layoffs mentioned above.

"Three-quarters of the entire police budget goes to personnel, the rest are operational costs, but €20 million of that is tied up in leases with state real estate agency the RKAS," Belitšev went on, adding that €15 million has already been committed to.

"The residual amount is €30 million, which we spend issuing ID documents, passports, and to purchase fuel for our vehicles. We don't have any fat to trim off," he added.

By way of example, repairing a PPA helicopter rotor blade using a specialist glue designed for the purpose costs about €100,000 plus VAT per gram of that glue.

On the other hand, skimping on this expense could ultimately lead, for example, to a situation where a child on Hiiumaa needing hospitalization in Tallinn could not be brought there, due to helicopters being grounded.

"I am not willing to make that decision," Belitšev said

Freezing salaries in the PPA is similarly not a good idea, as it could lead to the departure of some capable specialists, he added. "It's a difficult situation. We are competing in the labor market. This not primarily about the PPA officer and their wages, however, but that the Estonian people deserve PPA officers who can earn above the national average wage. Expectations are very high, and high expectations need to be met. Otherwise, the ensuing quality will match the lower pay and lower expectations," Belitšev continued.

The PPA has already made "significant" cuts in recent years, Belitšev noted – the force has shouldered the burden, at 86 percent, of the 2,500 total public sector layoffs made over the past 15 years, he said, while each year the PPA starts off with a €12 million budgetary deficit before even doing anyway.

"So, far from there being much fat to cut, we are striving to survive and to make sure we have enough funds to get through December," he added.

The Ministry of the Interior has been tasked with cutting costs in the newly agreed supplementary budget, but this will not affect the PPA's work or staffing levels, a situation which hopefully will remain the case in expected state budget cuts in the coming years, even as more challenging decisions likely lie ahead, Belitšev concluded.

All ministries are expected to make cuts in the newly agreed supplementary budget, subject to a Riigikogu vote ahead of the summer recess, though the Ministry of Defense will largely be exempt due to the current security situation. Discussions have also revolved around the extent to which the Ministry of the Interior is also vital to national security.

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