To give or not to give? Former policeman on bribes, extortion and "werewolves in uniform"

The former policeman published a candid post on Peekaboo, in which he shared useful information for people far from the system. In it, he told how to behave in order to avoid punishment, and answered the question that interests many: is it worth giving a bribe to a law enforcement officer?

The author's text is given below.

I am a former police officer, I worked for 8 years, this is for those who read my posts for the first time. This text may be of interest to people who are far from the system. Let's consider two questions: the first is what to do if a bribe is extorted, and the second is whether it is worth offering money if you want to avoid punishment.

Unfortunately, there are still situations when people are thrown something (usually drugs) and start extorting money. What should I do if I find myself in such a situation? Let's go through the points:

1. Do not start "pumping your rights", you can annoy or frighten criminals, and they will register you as it should be. And judicial practice in such cases shows that sometimes only the protocol of withdrawal and nothing else is enough for a sentence.

2. It is more correct, on the contrary, to show your fright, confusion (perhaps even start crying). This will lull the vigilance of criminals.

3. Promise to give the money (how much they will ask), just say that there is no such money and you need to borrow it from a friend, parents, etc. Stall for time.

4. While you are "looking for money", call the law enforcement agencies (the prosecutor's office, the investigative committee, even 02 will do) or inform friends or relatives, let them call.

5. You may be forced to go and withdraw money from the card, in this case, try to choose an ATM in a bank branch or in a shopping center. We need a place where there are a lot of cameras. If you have cash with you and they want to take it, give it back. It also happens that criminals offer to transfer money to their card (if I hadn't seen it, I wouldn't have believed that there are such stupid criminals), transfer it.

6. If you managed to report extortion to law enforcement agencies, follow their instructions. If you were forced to give cash, withdraw from the card or transfer, as soon as you were released, immediately call the authorities.

During the extortion, try to remember as many signs as possible (car number, badge numbers). Even if you have already given the money, the criminals will be detained after the call and the money will most likely be with them. And, it would seem, it is impossible to prove the fact of extortion in this case. But, as practice shows, employees very often write a sincere confession during interrogations.

There is no need to be afraid to report a crime. The Investigative Committee or the USB of the Ministry of Internal Affairs will be happy to work out information about giving a bribe, they are required to "stick", and then the matter itself goes into their hands. And if you call 02, they will also not cover anyone, calls are written there, and no one will be substituted and try to cover these employees, their shirt is always closer to the body.

Remember: an employee who throws drugs (or something else) to innocent people and then extorts money is a complete scum. Such people are much worse than ordinary criminals, because they have power. Maybe after the following words, sneakers will fly at me from people who have a mixture of "criminal", boyish, army and other concepts in their heads. But such "employees" need to be handed over, even if you are not the victim, but a friend or colleague of such an employee.

And now about giving bribes. A very common situation is when a person has violated traffic rules, he was stopped and is going to write out a protocol (this situation applies to all offenses, not only through the traffic police). Many people immediately try to "negotiate" with employees. And I could write that it is bad to give bribes, and you thereby corrupt employees and contribute to the degradation of the law enforcement system. 

But usually people have a lot of "special circumstances" that remove moral responsibility. Circumstances like: "I'm in a hurry", "what difference does it make — to pay an employee or to the budget, they will still steal", "there should not be this sign/solid line here at all, they specially put / drew people to fine", "I feed my family, I can't lose my rights"," and THEY steal billions there in general " and many others. Therefore, we will not talk about morality, I will tell you better about non-obvious things.

I have already mentioned that certain structures need "sticks" for bribes. And they need not only those who take, but also those who give. And quite often, traffic police officers or other police departments cooperate with such structures. And the fact that you offer and give a bribe will be recorded on video or recorded on audio, this is "iron" evidence. Nothing depends on whether you will deny the fact or not. You will definitely have a criminal record and / or a fine of up to 500 thousand, or a suspended sentence, and if you are very unlucky, then a real one.

On the Internet and on TV, news about the detention of officials for bribery is constantly flashing, and not a word about citizens detained for giving bribes. I don't know why journalists avoid this topic. But in 2014, there were 2.5 times more people convicted for giving a bribe than for receiving a bribe, and a quarter of those who gave a bribe received real terms. Think for yourself that it is better to get a fine or lose your rights,or get a criminal record, and possibly a real term.

Thank you for reading it.