In 2009, 41 corruption offenses were registered within the structure of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

June 29, Minsk /BELTA/. In 2009, 41 corruption-related crimes were registered within the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced this today at a meeting with the operational and commanding staff of the internal affairs bodies, a BELTA correspondent reports. "The penetration of such large-scale phenomena as corruption, official crimes, and betrayal of service interests into the internal affairs bodies causes particular indignation. In the current year, 41 corruption-related crimes have been registered in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, with 31 employees involved in their commission. In 2008, 65 criminal cases in this category were initiated against 51 employees," the head of state said. The most challenging situation with personnel discipline persists in the Main Departments of Internal Affairs of the Grodno and Vitebsk Regional Executive Committees, where the number of violations has significantly increased. In a number of cases, adequate response measures were not taken by superiors against officials who committed serious violations. "The Ministry of Internal Affairs is characterized by thoughtlessness and inconsistency in resolving personnel issues, which leads to a decrease in the professional level of employees and prevents the effective accomplishment of assigned tasks. Personnel turnover generates many problems," Alexander Lukashenko stated. Over the past 2 years, the overall personnel shortage has increased, reaching 9% as of June 1, 2009. In the anti-corruption and economic crimes service, it is almost 11%, and in the patrol and post service units, it is 19%. High personnel turnover also negatively affects the work of district police officers. As of June 1, the shortage of district police officers nationwide was 9%, with 11% in the Minsk region and 20% in Minsk. "According to a survey, every fourth police officer cited such a state of affairs as a consequence of the unacceptable leadership style of immediate superiors, who create a nervous atmosphere in the team," the President added. -0-