Ukraine fires all its bribe-hungry traffic cops

[Larry1]

There is frequent discussion here about corruption in Ukraine. Apparently the government is trying to address one area of corruption.

Clean sweep? Ukraine cans all its bribe-hungry traffic cops.
The country's traffic police are notorious for pulling motorists over to extract bribes. Following a model that worked in Georgia, Ukraine is terminating the entire department and replacing them with new, Western-style patrol cops.

Across the country’s highways, the officers stand on the side of the highway and wave their white batons to signal random motorists to pull over. From there, drivers say, a shakedown for any number of trumped up or real traffic violations typically results in the motorists emptying their wallets to “resolve” the issue.

“They don’t serve the people, they serve themselves,” says Volodymyr Kuzhekyn, a former mechanic. “Public respect for them is lower than the curb.”

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2015/0602/Clean-sweep-Ukraine-cans-all-its-bribe-hungry-traffic-cops

Read the entire article if you're interested in this topic.

[mhr7]

Good, I'm glad to see this. In Georgia, the newest, most modern building in any city or town will be the police station. A lot of money was invested to modernize, equip and pay new officers to not only get rid of corruption but also to take control of a crime rate that soaring out of control. When I worked in Georgia I was part of a program that helped teach English to the police in many of the bigger cities. I hope the overhaul is just as successful in Ukraine.

As an aside, when traveling through Ukraine with my current GF, whenever we would pass these traffic police on the street she would mutter "fu*king animals" (actually she would say "fu*ked animals" until I corrected her ). Not popular people at all.

[mendeleyev]

Georgia's former president Saakashvili has been named as governor of Odessa, a region which Russia would like to capture. Saakashvili was the president who fired all the corrupt Georgian cops several years back.

[Slumba]

Georgia's former president Saakashvili has been named as governor of Odessa, a region which Russia would like to capture. Saakashvili was the president who fired all the corrupt Georgian cops several years back.

That is very clever ... Saakashvili will have no love for any Russian antics, and may be able to better anticipate the Russian playbook.  Assuming of course, there are any Russian forces in Ukraine 

[mendeleyev]

Yesterday I was visiting someone on the outskirts of Moscow and due to the late hour of return I stayed in a hotel a few metro stops back into civilization. In the morning I grabbed a copy of the Moscow Times in the lobby and read a nice piece on that governorship appointment while riding the Metro back into Moscow.

I do not know if the article, and op-ed piece, is online but if so it is worth a read.

[Sailor291]

Someone correct me if I am wrong, but, I seem to remember when Yushchenko was in power several years ago, he fired all the traffic cops.  Did they hire more and they became corrupt too?

[Boethius]

No, he fired policemen who stopped him personally and demanded a bribe.