Russia’s Interior Ministry employed 26,000 people, who had not passed recertification as part of President Dmitry Medvedev’s reform aimed at improving the performance of the country’s law-enforcement authorities, the Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev said on Sunday.
“Not all employees passed the recertification, but they did not discredit themselves while servicing in law-enforcement agencies. We must assist such officers in the employment. This is our duty and obligation. Since that time the Ministry employed 26,500 officers, while 10,711 are unemployed,” Nurgaliyev said.
He also said that the ministry could employ only people who did discredit themselves.
Under Medvedev’s reform, Russia’s militsiya (militia) were renamed politsiya (police) on August 1. The renaming was part of a massive shake-up of the country’s often-criticized force. Officers have been charged or convicted in the last few years of numerous crimes, including a shooting spree in a Moscow supermarket, the beheading of a suspect, burning a suspect alive, child sex abuse and rape.