The People in the Ministry of Interior (MoI) are Many, but There Is a Shortage of Police Officers – Especially in the Northwest

The Ministry of Interior is known as the most bloated, most expensive, and most ossified administrative structure. This year, there was an extraordinary increase in funding for the Ministry, but it is not linked to reform and will not increase the low trust citizens have in the police, nor improve working conditions in the system significantly.

Moreover, Bulgaria remains the EU country spending the most on police. While the EU average is 1.7% of GDP for internal security, Bulgaria allocates an unprecedented 2.5%.

The clash between inflated costs and staff numbers, high crime rates, and lack of trust in the institution can be seen in the distribution of employees in the system, specifically in the ratio of police officers “on the ground” and those in administration. Over 25,000 people are employed in regional departments of the Ministry, but fewer than 3,000 are working in security, crime prevention, and investigations. For comparison, there are similar numbers in management, social services, administrative support, and human resources.

Regionally, the disparities are significant. In the Smolyan, Silistra, Kardzhali regions, and the capital, less than 10% of the employees are “on the ground”. In contrast, in the regions of Pernik and Yambol, the percentage is nearly 15%.

Crime rates across regions further refine the analysis. The highest workload for police officers is in the regions of Vratsa, Varna, and the capital, where more than 30 crimes are reported per officer annually. By comparison, Smolyan and Kardzhali report only around 15 crimes per officer.

The map clearly shows that the North-West region, in general, faces high crime rates with few officers.

Additionally, each regional structure of the Ministry, along with secondary budgetary bodies, maintains its own administration, parallel to that of the Ministry, and the Ministry cannot shake off unnecessary, redundant tasks. In the past decade, there have been several attempts at reform and cutting unnecessary expenses and officials, but significant results have not been achieved, while the maintenance costs keep rising.

[1] Refers to employees in the Criminal Crime Prevention Sector, Public Order and Territorial Police Sector, and Investigation Department.

[2] Traditionally, the most crimes against personal safety and property are registered in Sofia (over 15,000 annually), Plovdiv, and coastal regions such as Varna and Burgas (around 5,000 to 7,000 each). The fewest crimes are registered in Smolyan and Kardzhali.