Reforming the wage system in the police: a path to staffing the units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia

The subject of this research article is the salary system for police officers in the Russian Federation, its impact on their special legal status and overall payment system, as well as an analysis of the reasons for staff turnover, identifying uncompetitive salary levels as one of the key factors. Special attention is paid to the development and justification of a new model of the payment system aimed at stimulating productivity and compensating for overtime, while considering budget constraints and the principles of voluntariness, fairness, transparency, and economic efficiency. The article details the structure of the proposed model, which includes the preservation of the basic elements of monetary compensation and the introduction of additional payments, and justifies the need for the automation of processes related to overtime accounting and performance evaluation. The work employs general scientific methods of analysis, synthesis, generalization, a systemic approach, as well as special legal methods, economic-mathematical modeling, and analysis of statistical data from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. The novelty of the research lies in the development and scientific justification of a conceptually new model of the salary system for police officers, offering a comprehensive approach to addressing the issue of understaffing without a significant increase in budget allocations. A significant contribution of the author to the research on this topic is the proposed mechanism for reallocating existing budget funds by optimizing salaries and using savings from vacant positions to stimulate productivity and compensate for overtime. The main conclusions of the conducted research include the justification of the advantages of the proposed model, which encompasses increased competitiveness of salaries, decreased staff turnover, enhanced motivation of employees, and increased fairness of the labor evaluation system. Potential risks of implementation have also been identified, with suggested ways to minimize them, emphasizing the need for phased implementation and ongoing monitoring of the system. The practical significance of the research lies in the possibility of using the proposed model to improve the payment system in law enforcement agencies and to address the issue of understaffing.