Aleh Vouchak: Police Is Criminal Structure

The police in Belarus have extremely low confidence rating of citizens.

Interior Minister Ihar Shunevich will get more money under the condition of reductions and cost savings.

Human rights activist Aleh Vouchak commented on possible dismissals of police officers on air of Belsat:

– I think the economy is forcing to reduce the large MIA staff. According to my information, it is planned to reduce it by 20 - 30%.

It is safe to reduce the Ministry staff by half and to remove regional departments – the MIA will lose nothing from it. The entire burden falls on the district offices, where criminal investigators work, on the patrol-guard service and others. But who they are going to dismiss in the first place – I do not know. Of course, executives will fight to the end in order to stay.

The police in Belarus have the lowest confidence rating of the citizens: they shoot, drive being drunk, steal, sell drugs – the impression is that it is a criminal structure, not a law enforcement one.