'Erdogan's Brownshirts' | Turkey’s president moves to empower night watchmen (bekçiler)

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“The seventh article of the bill grants all police authority to the watchmen. In that case, what is the need for police? The watchmen would be granted the right to search with their hands and pat people down. Will a watchman that sees a female student at midnight search her with his hands? This article is unacceptable and needs to be amended. ... They are creating a parallel police force.”
Among the powers to be granted to bekçis are the authority to intervene in incidents, to guard and handle crime scene evidence, to carry guns and conduct identity checks. The bekçis have already been carrying out some of these activities, at times giving rise to legal disputes.