Prosecutors in Central Russia’s Voronezh Region upheld a ban for off-duty police officers to use their personal vehicles at night, a spokesman for the regional prosecutor’s office said on Wednesday.
The Voronezh Region police department ordered its employees to avoid using their personal cars from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. or face disciplinary action. The move was intended to curb the growing number of road accidents involving police officers.
“This is an issue of the Interior Ministry’s internal personnel policy, and will be checked by a relevant department,” said Mikhail Usov, a senior aide to the region’s prosecutor.
Usov added that the Voronezh Region Prosecutor’s Office supports the local interior ministry department’s efforts to improve discipline and road safety.
Two road accidents involving off-duty police officers were registered in the region only in the past seven days. Last Wednesday, a car driven by a police officer under the influence of alcohol failed to negotiate a turn and crashed into another car, leaving four people slightly injured.
On Sunday, five people were injured when a car driven by a police officer overturned. It is unclear whether he was driving while drunk.