Telegram channel users criticize compensation in Rostov Ministry of Internal Affairs for refusing bribes

The decision of the Rostov Regional Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to compensate security officials for the amount of bribes they refused has effectively legitimized corruption, and the source of funds for bonuses for police officers is unclear, according to Telegram users.

Police officers in the Rostov Region have begun to be compensated for the amounts of bribes they refused. The practice was introduced to encourage the anti-corruption position of employees, said the head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Rostov Region, Alexander Rechitsky.

"For their steadfast anti-corruption position, police officers are being refunded the funds that were offered by bribe givers during the period of illegal actions," TASS quoted him as saying on July 15. Each amount offered is returned to the employee in the amount in which it was offered by the bribe giver.

According to the head of the regional Ministry of Internal Affairs, criminal cases are being opened against people who offered bribes to security forces. In the last two months alone, over 25 cases have been opened under Article 291 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Bribery"), the publication says.

On the same day, the website of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Rostov Region published information that "for a staunch anti-corruption position, a traffic police inspector of the Don separate battalion No. 2, police lieutenant Tural Safarov, was awarded a cash prize of 30,000 rubles."

They simply decided to legalize bribes, under a different name

Users of Telegram channels were surprised by this solution to the problem of bribery in law enforcement agencies. Thus, in the channel "Bataisk city", which has 28,012 subscribers, the post about this collected 48 comments.

"Even if they don't take it themselves, they'll give it anyway. That's where you need to go to work," wrote Oksana.

"They're just pushing you to provoke a bribe, then register the person and get the money," believes Natalya.

"First you extort a bribe, then you turn in the person who gave you the bribe, then you get a solved case and a bonus," agreed user K.I.

"They just decided to legalize bribes, under a different name," commented S.

A similar opinion was expressed by commentators in the Telegram channel "Rostov News.161.ru", where this post has garnered 124 comments.

"The bribe is taken away, the bribe-giver is jailed, the police get a bonus and extraordinary ranks for fighting corruption. Everyone is happy," commented Elena.

"And from what budget is this generosity sown?" - KEA asked.

I wonder where they're going to get the money to compensate for the bribes. From the budget, perhaps?

State Duma deputies consider the initiative dubious

The question of the source of the funds also interested the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on Security and Anti-Corruption Mikhail Starshinov.   "Why, I wonder, are only the Rostov police officers being compensated? What about the other police officers? <...> And how do they prove that the funds were there? Now they'll come up with everyone they didn't even give them to, saying they are giving them. There are more questions than answers here. I don't understand how this is regulated by law. And I'm also curious where they'll get the money to compensate for the bribes. From the budget, perhaps? Or from where?," Gazeta.Ru quoted him as saying on July 15.

According to Andrei Alshevskikh, such an initiative undermines public trust in law enforcement agencies.

"An ambiguous initiative. It evokes associations with the "relatively honest ways of extorting money" from the works of Ilf and Petrov.Just think about it. Police superiors are allegedly pushing their subordinates to extortion. Moreover, any development of events benefits the dishonest employee."He'll take a bribe" secretly - he'll already be satisfied. And if something goes wrong - he'll turn in the bribe giver and receive compensation from the state. There is a fear that the police will stop performing their direct duties and focus on finding potential "victims" for provocations. If this news is not fake, it is necessary to stop such practices in order not to undermine public trust in law enforcement agencies," Gazeta.Ru quoted him as saying on July 15.

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