Why are policemen seen as criminals?
Published: 28 April, 2009, 15:12
Many Russians do not trust the police as they consider servicemen a part of the criminal world, rather than enforcers of the law, says sociologist Boris Kagarlitsky.
“If you get in touch with the police you discover that there are some people who do their job well, and some who don’t. But the general image is very negative because of corruption most of all, and also because many people, who serve in the police, later move to private security agencies, which are often linked with the mafia. In that sense there’s no clear division between the police and crime,” Kagarlitsky says.
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I will not say all policeman are dishonest, but I do believe most of them are, they exploit their authority - they are not physically fit, most of them are fat, with large stomachs - I am speaking about the ones in my city - there was a picture on the front page of my paper, he could not catch a 2 year old, his stomach was so big - I wish I could say they are 100 percent honest but I can't
Because quite often they are! There are many issues wrapped up in; why this is the case, and we must also remember that corruption is rife in the Police of other countries, like the UK and US. So it is not just a Russian theme. The corruption happens at many levels, in its worst the Police are involved in some very heavy criminal activity like murder, drugs or rape. In its lightest form, it is a few rubles to avoid a traffic problem. So basically the people see what is going on, and take notice, and this is not a bad thing, because it is the people who deserve a decent police force. If the Police don't want to be seen as criminals, then they need put their house in order, such that the people, get to see and learn things have changed. This is not a bad thing, the people must see the difference for theselves, this is not a short process, it would take years, for such a change in perception, even if the Police reformed over night. Russia has an opportunity here, to clean up its act and provide minimal honest policing, for the support of the people. Then the perception would really change. With law and policing, less is really more.