MOSCOW, December 26 - RAPSI. The level of police corruption has significantly lowered in 2011 compared to the previous year, Yuri Draguntsev, head of the Interior Ministry's Internal Security Directorate, told RIA Novosti.

"About 1,880 police officers have been prosecuted for corruption offences over 11 months of 2011. The corruption level in the Interior Ministry has gone down by 17.5 percent compared to the same period in 2010," Draguntsev said.

Draguntsev also pointed to a significant decrease in other corruption-related offences committed by police staff. So, he said, the number of crimes implying abuse of office dropped by 35.8 percent and the number of police officers prosecuted for implication in bribery decreased by 9 percent.

Draguntsev said that the number of police crimes uncovered by the Internal Security Directorate has increased to 70 percent in 2011.