Night watchmen to be granted stop-and-frisk authority; era of whistle-patrols begins

The principles regarding the duties and powers of market and neighborhood watchmen (bekçiler) have been reorganized. With the amendment published in the Official Gazette, notable updates have been made to the scope of duties and working conditions of the watchmen.

“PAT-DOWN” AUTHORITY GRANTED TO WATCHMEN

According to the report on NTV, the amendment to the regulation grants watchmen the authority to check individuals under certain conditions. The limits of this authority were defined in the regulation with the following expressions:

“In the presence of sufficient suspicion that a stopped person or their vehicle contains a weapon or an item that could endanger their own life or the lives of others, they may perform an external manual check by patting down the person to prevent harm to themselves or others. For vehicles, they may check the parts of the vehicle that are visible from the outside. A full body search or vehicle search cannot be conducted for this purpose.”

FLEXIBILITY INTRODUCED TO WORKING HOURS

While the working hours of watchmen are primarily maintained to cover the period between sunset and sunrise, the path has been cleared for them to work outside these hours when necessary.

This situation was expressed in the regulation as follows:

“Market and neighborhood watchmen may be employed outside the time frame specified in the second paragraph with the approval of the Minister in cases of emergency, terrorism, social incidents, natural disasters, epidemics, seasonal conditions, and similar situations where security or public order and operational necessities arise.”

PATROL PROCEDURES REDEFINED

The new regulation also includes details on how watchmen should act while on duty. Accordingly, certain rules will be followed during patrols.

The definition in the regulation is as follows:

“During duty, walking is done with slow steps; at turns and street corners, one stops to observe and examine the surroundings. During walks, sudden turns are made to check if one is being watched or followed. From time to time, a single whistle is blown to prevent the commission of crimes.”

The rule that watchmen will perform their duties in pairs, with the senior one walking on the right side, has also been preserved.

MINISTRY TO ASSIGN DUTIES WHEN NECESSARY

Within the scope of the regulation, the path has been kept open for the Ministry of Interior to assign duties to watchmen when needed.

Minister of Interior Mustafa Çiftçi also stated the following in his remarks on March 29, 2026:

“We are envisioning a regulation that will allow watchmen serving across our country to be assigned to areas where they are needed under the command and administration of the Governorship, instead of only serving during nighttime hours. Our Market and Neighborhood Watchmen will be able to take on guard duties at points to be determined by the initiatives taken in the provinces.”