The police commander in Iran’s Alborz province has told the public he will confront people with bad hijab even within the territory of apartment complexes.

The official government news website IRNA reports that Abbas Ali Mohammadian at a public gathering in the city of Karaj on October 9 told the people they should report on their others who have “bad hijab”.

Since the establishment of the Islamic Republic in 1979, the clerical rulers of Iran have instituted dress code for both men and women, with stricter enforcement of hijab rules for females.

The restrictions were never codified in law but are enforced through standards conveyed to a variety of police and “morality patrols” nationwide.

Mohammadian also reiterated that he will continue to enforce hijab rules in cars, claiming that the policy to penalize owners of vehicles for the bad hijab of female passengers has “solved a social problem”.

This year, the latest controversial campaign for hijab enforcement has focused on passengers in private vehicles. Law enforcement has set up a system by which any citizen can send a text message to inform the police of bad hijab in a particular car. Once the text message is received, police contact the owner of the vehicle who must appear at a police station and sign papers not to repeat the offense. More serious measures apply to repeat offenders.

In recent months authorities have increased their hijab enforcement efforts, often prompting citizens to argue and even attack those who urge them to follow the rules.