Report on the Security Situation in the Czech Republic in 2000
(in comparison with 1999)

Contents  

5. Conclusion

A typical feature for the development and dynamics of crime18 in the Czech Republic in 2000, in comparison with 1999, is the continued stagnation of crime. On one hand, the number of crimes cleared up decreased, on a long-term basis it has been the first decline in total crime since 1994, on the other hand, according to a sociological survey, the number of citizens who were directly affected by crime has increased. At the same time mainly economic crimes and drug offences were more accurately reported in the police statistics. So the year-to-year growth (since 1994) in the number of crimes ascertained stagnated for the second year. Stagnation in total crime is accompanied by a moderate decrease in the number of crimes cleared up and the total detection rate (the detection rate of violent and moral crimes reaches on a long-term basis 80-90 %, economic crime 95 %; crime against property about 26 %). The trend of increase in ascertained damages continued, mainly in economic crime the share of which in total damage claims rose to 80 % (in 1999 it was less than 60 %). Stagnation in crimes ascertained was recorded in all crime offences monitored; a considerable increase in offenders of economic crimes was registered. In addition to growth in damages, a quite considerable increase in the number of murders and dangerous threats is a negative phenomenon. A certain degree of stagnation in crimes committed by youth and mainly by children cannot be considered to be favourable. A decline in recorded moral crimes can be evaluated negatively, due to its high latency and danger. The reduction in burglaries on a long-term basis is positive and the same applies to detection of economic crime, especially of criminal offences linked to high damages ascertained.

Crime development is substantially influenced by offences committed in Prague, which is the most affected territory in terms of the number of crimes ascertained per 10,000 inhabitants despite recording the largest decline of the regions in the Czech Republic. In comparison with other regions a several fold increase of car thefts and robberies, in spite of their total decline, is recorded. A complicated situation remains in Central Bohemia despite the fact that in terms of the number of crimes committed this region has shifted to the 5th place. The highest number of murders, which means the highest increase in this kind of crime, was recorded here. Central Bohemia was also the only region where the number of thefts from cars increased and it occupies the second place among the regions with regards to unauthorised production and distribution of psychotropic substances and poisons, robberies, frauds, and it occupies the fist places in terms of tax curtailment.

To objectively evaluate crime levels and especially citizens’ feeling of safety it is necessary to say that according to victimological research19 the proportion of citizens directly affected by crimes moderately increased to 24 % of the respondents (in the previous period there was a decline from, 28 % to 19 %). While in the previous period three of four victims reported a crime to the police, in the year monitored 53 % of the respondents informed the police. The most frequent criminal offences reported by victims were thefts from cars or intended damage of a car, burglary, larceny or pickpocketing. A decisive reason for not report a crime is doubt whether an offender will be detected. A part of the concerns relate to actual issues in the economic area, thus the crime itself occupies third place of concerns after concerns related to unemployment and the development of economic problems. The response of people to recognised risks remains active – there is no tendency towards the development of self-assisting activities. People typically criticise ”the lower visibility” of the police.

More than 34 % of offenders are people between 20-30 years of age. The number of repeated offenders and economic crimes committed by them increased, contrary to this the number of prosecuted foreigners and mainly the number of crimes committed by them substantially decreased. The number of juvenile offenders stagnated, however their aggression and brutality has been repeatedly ascertained, all kinds of crime committed by young people are more professional, mainly in crimes against property. Policemen do not find any differences between crimes committed by youths and crimes committed by adult offenders. It is necessary to mention the latency of crimes committed by youths such as bullying, larcenies in shops, in the street and so on. The number of prosecuted policemen increased and the same applies to crimes committed by Czech Police members and recorded by the Inspectors of the Minister of the Interior. (The data concerned ascertained and cleared up crime. The rise in crimes committed by policemen means, as in 1999, a lower latency rather than an absolute increase. For example a number of cleared up frauds had roots in the previous years). Policemen under 30 years of age with service periods up to 10 years committed the highest number of offences; abuse of power by a public official is the most frequent offence followed by insurance frauds.

In crimes against property there was another decline in the number of ascertained burglaries, especially burglaries to flats as well as to weekend houses. A moderate decline in the number of detected thefts from cars and car thefts has been recorded for the last two years, while for the first time the damage caused by car thefts has fallen. Despite this fact, mainly burglaries to flats and houses are, according to sociological surveys, perceived negatively by the public. Burglaries /tipped off flats and family houses) and common thefts (mainly car thefts and thefts from cars) display elements of organisation (from the persons giving the tips to the persons selling the stolen goods, or in case of stolen cars, getting the forged document). According to policemen’s findings it is possible to estimate that about one third of car thefts represent insurance frauds. According to the survey made among the victims of crime respondents stated the most frequent crimes they had been affected by were thefts from cars or intentional damage to a car and burglaries; these two categories occupy the first places in the surveys aimed at the concerns of citizens that could become victims of a crime. It might be said that better technical equipment to secure both the property and personal security is becoming commonplace. A certain stability in terms of crimes against property has been influenced by a set of adopted preventative measures. There have been no substantial changes in the field of cultural heritage, thus this area remains a serious problem – it is a well-organised crime displaying high latency.

The dynamic growth recorded in the previous years in the number of ascertained economic crimes stopped. In terms of the time when a certain economic crime started, about 18 % of the economic crimes recorded were commenced in 2000 while 82 % were commenced in the previous years. A decline in the number of economic criminal offences was accompanied by a higher number of prosecuted persons and the damage caused by this kind of crime increased markedly. More intensive detection of economic crime affected especially the crimes causing high damage, e.g. breaches of the duty to administer another’s property accounted for 12.5 % of the total damage caused by economic crime in 1999, while in 2000 the value reached 68,8 %. Although the relevant authorities made efforts to eliminate the roots of the growth of serious economic crime, which were described in many documents relating to this kind of crime, the current results are not satisfactory. One of the main reasons for this may be the insufficient specialisation of the criminal proceeding bodies, insufficient equipment, permanent lack of relevant experts. Tax manipulations relating to distribution of spirits and crude oil products as well as cigarettes without duty stamps and some agricultural commodities remain a problem. The situation relating to false accounting, missing accounting receipts, failure to transfer statutory social and health insurance contributions continued. A sustainable growth has been recorded in the field of insurance and credit frauds. According to the recent findings the potential danger of misusing electronic transfers is increasing, transport of cash across the borders has been recorded, there have been new reports on suspicious trades made by insurance companies. Corruption is serious criminal conduct exceeding the boundaries of economic crime. Corruption is difficult to prove everywhere, not only in the Czech Republic. The majority of corruption cases are related to various forms of bribery, abuse of power by a public official, breach of mandatory rule in economic relations, and breaching of the duty to administer another’s property. There have not been substantial changes in the field of intellectual property, which remains a serious crime. The range of measures adopted in 2000 should be an efficient tool for reduction in this kind of crime. Computer crime, including information technology and the Internet, is a risky area. In spite of the fact that the number of ascertained environmental crimes is rising, its forms such as the storage, transport and disposal of waste, unauthorised production of timber and its export, and water conservation as well as protection of endangered species of plant and animal realms are still latent and highly risk.

Murders are the most serious among all violent crimes. The number of murders increased again. Murders caused by personal disputes prevail, an increasing trend in robberies with murders was recorded as well. Robberies do not rank among the most numerous crimes however their severity cannot be evaluated only according to their frequency and damage caused by this kind of crime but it is necessary to bear in mind that they represent a strong feeling of being endangered. The most important factors affecting this situation are mainly a certain degree of organisation, alcohol, narcotic drugs, aggression, brutality, frequent use of weapons. Increasing attacks using booby traps remain a risk factor.

A decline in the number of recorded moral crimes rather means even further deepening of latency. Rape has been falling. Prostitution directly relating to pandering remains a steady problem in spite of pandering demonstrating a decline by 47 %. Trafficking in women displayed a decline as well. It is a type of crime which is hard to prove and the majority of prostitutes refuse to give any evidence against pimps and procurers. This crime is well organised at the international level.

Road safety remains a persistent nation-wide problem. In comparison with 1999, there was a slight decrease in the number of traffic accidents, however the number of persons killed increased, while the number of persons with light as well as heavy injuries fell. A car accident was among the main concerns the respondents of sociological surveys expressed.

Crimes having racial or other extremist nature represent a crime dangerous to society. The growth in this kind of crime was accompanied by a higher number of cleared up crimes as well as by a higher detection rate. A higher number of crimes being reported and more intensive police work were projected in such an increase. The activities of the anarcho-autonomous movement continued. It took the form of demonstrations and informal events, aimed against state administration bodies while seeking direct confrontation with the police. Supporters of this part of the left-wing spectrum typically sought activities aimed against supporters of the skinhead movement. A number of them were involved in protests against the INM/WB meeting held in Prague in September. The right-wing extremist scene continued its efforts to transform the movement into a political party and such efforts climaxed prior to the elections to the Senate and Regional Parliaments. The number of classic ”Rallies” of skinhead movement supporters decreased. On the other hand, the number of smaller, private celebrations increased. There were more serious breaches of the peace by juvenile or close to juvenile offenders, almost exclusively from supporters and members of the skinhead movement. Such verbal or physical attacks were aimed mainly against the Roma community, but also dark skinned foreigners were often attacked.

In terms of illegal migration, the number of apprehended foreigners stagnates at the level of the previous year. The Czech Republic remains largely a transit country since the number of illegal migrants apprehended while illegally crossing the national border in the direction from the Czech Republic considerably has exceeded the number of those being apprehended while crossing the border to the Czech Republic. An increase in the number of asylum seekers is accompanied by escapes from refugee camps and by repeated attempts of applicants for asylum to cross the national border illegally from the Czech Republic. Migrants more often use ”assistance” when illegally crossing the borders, they travel with invalid or forged travel documents (stagnation in this field means higher latency due to the increasing quality in forged documents). The number of persons who were revealed in hiding places in the various means of transport increased. Illegal migration is professionally organised and the hopeless situation of the fugitives is often abused. Social and economic factors represent a strong motivation for illegal migrants (among apprehended foreigners 51 % of them were without valid travel documents). Illegal employment of foreigners is closely related to illegal migration.

The objective in the field of the protection of classified information was to eliminate the complex, time consuming and costly security screenings of individuals. The amendment to the Act on Classified Information includes, inter alia, exclusion of personal qualifications for the 1st degree of the security screening, simplifies execution of the security screening of the 3rd degree by implementing an attitude at the individual level. Furthermore, this amendment transfers a part of the security screening of 2nd grade from the National Security Authority to the Ministry of Defence. The area of classified information remains a risk factor since there is a possibility of leak or disclosure of information mainly information the Czech Republic shares with other members states. Such leak of information could seriously damage the trustworthiness of the Czech Republic.

Rescue brigades and emergency services play an irreplaceable role in the field of public order protection and internal security of citizens. The aim of these forces is together with the Czech Police, armed forces and intelligence services to ensure the protection of lives, health, property and the environment against all kinds of security threats. Individual units of the Integrated Rescue System respond to natural disasters (e.g. floods contamination of water sources, air pollution, etc.). They are also involved in assisting in emergency situations occurring outside the Czech Republic (natural disasters or industrial breakdowns, humanitarian aid and rescue assistance).

Local matters of the public order as an integral part of the public order are ensured by the municipal police in compliance with Act No. 128/2000 Coll., on Municipalities (Municipal Act). In 2000 there were about 364 municipal police corps consisting of approximately 7224 constables.

The continuing stagnation of crime represents a positive development in the field of public order and internal security. However, a very high number of recorded criminal offences, growing brutality, and the more sophisticated types of offences mean that measures which bring pressure on reduction of criminal activities are still required. Also modification of content from time to time is needed, on the basis of analyses of the adopted measures. The fundamental objective is to ensure that an offender is detected, convicted and punished as soon as after he/she had committed a crime offence because only in such a case can the public perceive the procedures taken by the state as execution of criminal justice and the preventative aims can be met as well. Another issue is to apply the measures consistently.

On the basis of information on trends and dynamic for crime, issues in fields related to internal order and security, information on safety feelings of citizens, the following priorities of the security policy in terms of public order and internal security can be proposed (simultaneously, establishment of effective protection against all aspects of crime is required)20:

Crime committed by youth. Major economic crime (frauds, tax curtailments, money laundering). Corruption. Illegal migration. Crime by criminal organisations. Crime having an extremist nature. Unlawful conduct in the field of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. Infringements of intellectual property rights. Murders and robberies. Car thefts and thefts from cars. Breaches of safety rules of road traffic.

 


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