Shunevich: Policemen Are Not Always Competent

Minister of Internal Affairs Ihar Shunevich has told about "a whole host of reasons" why his department became a source of scandals.

"Indeed, we are not always competent at the level of the first instance, and there are many reasons for this, including some kind of professional unreadiness to solve very complex, often long-standing issues," – the minister said after holding a personal reception in Minsk, Euroradio reports.

He added that "personal methods, contacts with people" were always the main form of obtaining information for law enforcement officers. "Any citizens' help is welcome. It is difficult to ensure the rule of law at the proper level without involvement of the public (in particular, voluntary people's squads)," – Ihar Shunevich believes.

There are also cases of formalism in work. Ihar Shunevich told about the appeal of one of the applicants, who was fined for parking on the lot for people with disabilities, and it happened that a special sticker on her car had simply been washed off by the rain." From the point of view of the law, the law enforcement officers acted correctly, but formally. It is necessary to set face against such facts," – the minister believes.

We remind that over the past year, Ihar Shunevich's office has regularly appeared in the center of scandals. The traffic police officers have been caught drunk when driving. On New Year's Eve, a policeman wounded a Minsk citizen, whose neighbors were complaining of noise, with a service weapon. And Krychau policemen complained about their boss, after which they were fired from the service.