Depressing figures on police brutality

From polit.ru - no author credit given. Translation by yours truly. Disheartening stuff.

Every 10th Victim of the Militia is a Teenager
December 15, 2004

One-third of Russian male teenagers aged 14-17 (32%) have been the subject of militia interest in the past year. These data are from a survey on “militia violence toward teenagers” which was conducted by Yuri Levada’s Analytical Center at the request of the Social Verdict foundation.

According to sociologists, in 48% of these interactions the militiamen behaved in an improper manner. The most frequently mentioned incidents were detention without cause (in 23% of interactions and more than one half of the instances of improper militia behavior); verbal insults and abuse of the teenager (in 18% of interactions with militiamen); threats (15%); and beating (in 12% of interactions, i.e. one in eight interactions). It’s no surprise that over 70% of teenagers and their parents are afraid of the militia’s lawlessness and aggression. Of every one hundred cases alleging human rights violations committed by law enforcement bodies, ten involve children or teenagers as the victimized party.

“The level of expectation that law enforcement officials will violate the law is such that a sociologist must consider it the statistical norm in the lives and consciousness of today’s Russians,” said the head of the Levada Center, professor Yuri Levada. “In other words, behavior unbound by rules or limits and the militia’s demonstration of its dominance by any means necessary are becoming increasingly widespread and are expected by the majority of Russians in encounters with government law enforcement officials.”