Saeid Montazeralmahdi, the spokesperson for the Iranian law enforcement force, confirmed on Sunday that police patrols were now operational on foot and with vehicles to crack down on people whose covering is not deemed appropriate in the Islamic Republic.

The morality police would “issue warnings and then introduce to the judicial system people who unfortunately insist on their norm-breaking behaviour without concern for the consequences of their covering that is outside of the norm”, he was quoted as saying by state media.

Montazeralmahdi said police expect everyone to conform to accepted dress codes so officers will have more time to deal with “other vital police missions”.

The officers are tasked with warning women – and sometimes men – to correct the way they are dressed. This could range from ordering women to adjust headscarves to demanding a change of clothing to something that is more loose-fitting and deemed more appropriate.

Women deemed to be in breach of the rules could be arrested and taken to so-called re-education facilities run by the police.

The news comes 10 months after Mahsa Amini, 22, died in police custody after being detained over an alleged dress code violation. Her death sparked mass protests across the country that lasted for months in which morality police were largely absent from Iranian streets.

After the protests, Iranian authorities had largely refrained from highly confrontational methods of enforcing mandatory hijab laws that were imposed shortly after the country’s 1979 Islamic revolution. That approach appears to be gradually shifting.

For the past few months, police have been employing surveillance cameras to identify hijab violators who are given warnings, fines or sent to appear in court. People found to be in violation of the dress code while in their vehicles could have their cars impounded.