Population health as a component of public security: the experience of the European Union and Ukraine

Abstract

The scientific article, taking into account the original concept of public safety, examines the European experience and domestic approaches to public health protection in a comprehensive, risk-oriented and preventive mode. The urgency of the investigated issues is shown not only in national, but also in international dimensions. The EU initiative on health security (2020-2025), which aims to create a regional workforce responsible for the prevention and control of infectious disease challenges and strengthen regional cooperation to overcome cross-border health security threats, has been positively evaluated. It is established that the outbreak of COVID-19 in the world has created new "opportunities" for organized criminal groups, given that law enforcement agencies are actively involved in resolving crisis situations in order to reduce the further spread of viral infection.
 From the standpoint of legal comparative analyses, the Ukrainian approach to public health protection within the national public safety program is highlighted. In particular, in Ukraine, the sphere of public security includes relations related to compliance with quarantine rules and the fight against particularly dangerous infectious diseases and epidemics. It was noted that the task of the Ukrainian authorities in the context of countering the spread and consequences of the corona crisis was not only the introduction of administrative and strengthening of criminal liability, but also the introduction at the local level of clear and specific rules of conduct during quarantine and timely and full communication of their content to the population.
 It is emphasized that the duty of citizens during large-scale threats to health is to strictly comply with regulations and requirements of competent authorities. It was determined that this directly depends, first of all, on the clear interaction of such state institutions as the bodies of the National Police, the State Emergency Service, the National Guard, local self-government bodies, communal enterprises, health care institutions, transport, human rights organizations, public associations for the protection of law and order among themselves and with the public.