Russian police officers could be restricted from joining political parties in order to ensure anonymity in police affairs, the first deputy Interior Minister said on Wednesday.
"Police serve the interests of the whole of society, regardless of the political, religious or social convictions of the citizens and the police officers themselves," Sergey Bulavin said.
The measure is part of a police reform bill, which was posted for public discussion in early August at www.zakonoproekt2010.ru to allow the public to discuss the possible changes to the law. Some amendments have already been made to the original text after discussions were considered.
If passed, the bill will come into effect from March 2011.
The state of Russia's police came to the fore after a number of high-profile police scandals, including the random shooting of several people in a supermarket by an off-duty police officer in April 2009.
MOSCOW, November 3 (RIA Novosti)
