Human rights abuses are practised systematically by the police in Ukraine, despite increasing efforts to combat the problem and growing public outrage. Institutional failings and high levels of corruption in the Ministry of Internal Affairs mean that people who come into contact with the police are at risk of a wide range of abuses, from verbal attacks to torture. Investigations into these events are often delayed, ineffective and biased, which only encourages the police in a culture of impunity. The government must commit to comprehensively reforming the system for overseeing the police.