Acting minister of interior Wais Ahmad Barmak on Wednesday said the gap between the public and police has significantly increased in recent times but that efforts are underway to rebuild the public’s trust in the force.  

He said that as it stands members of the public have little trust in the police. 

Barmak pledged that in future the interior ministry will take serious action against officers guilty of corruption, negligence and misconduct. 

“We will identify those who are habitually corrupt and we will refer them to the law, they will be in court, we will not rely only on suspension, they will be introduced to the attorney general on the basis of evidence,” said Barmak. 

In some cases police support criminals which is unacceptable, said Barmak.

On Wednesday, officials from the ministry of interior and delegations from 34 provinces of the country gathered in Kabul where they inaugurated the national police and public council.

“Someone commits the crime, then police come to the scene and say publicly that there has been no problem; it was just an incident; but four bullets were fired into the leg of the victim; but the police do not take action against the criminal and arrest him,” said Barmak.

According to ministry of interior, the community police so far has established 320 councils in cooperation with the people across the country. But members of the councils have said they want government to officially recognize their presence and provide them with the necessary resources.