Putin demands Interior Ministry's crackdown on frauds, falsifications committed by police officers
MOSCOW. Feb 26 (Interfax) - Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded that the Interior Ministry respond harshly to fraud and falsifications committed by police officers and dishonorably discharge them.
"I insist that every case of arbitrary conduct, falsification, and blatant fraud, which are defined as criminal offenses per se, be responded to as harshly as possible, that such activity be stopped, and that such officers be dishonorably discharged," Putin said at an expanded board meeting of the Interior Ministry on Wednesday.
The president also called for ensuring a reasonable period of criminal inquiry.
As for the Interior Ministry's officers' main tasks for this year, Putin indicated a need for high crime detection rates. "This is a major task for the agency, and all operative, investigative, and other divisions should concentrate on achieving it," he said.
Putin also called for taking additional measures to streamline pretrial investigations and placing emphasis on the lawful actions of investigative authorities and pretrial proceedings.