Russia has seen a string of criminal cases open against police officers in recent years, with charges of corruption and abuse of power leading the way. In 2005 these crimes increased 33%.
"Prevention measures have resulted in a 6% decline in crimes involving police officers in 2006," the ministry's press services quoted Rashid Nurgaliyev as saying.
The minister praised the work done by ministry officers from the internal affairs department, saying independent pollsters had registered a 17% rise in police confidence ratings among respondents, the first time in recent years.
According to the internal affairs department, a total of 1,733 police officers were convicted in 2005, with 574 officers being convicted of bribery. In addition to criminal convictions, more than 11,000 disciplinary penalties were imposed.
