1. Criminality
Overall criminality | 104 241 | (+5,2%) |
Criminality on 10 thousands inhabitants | 867 | |
Clarified crimes | 28 541 | (+9,1%) |
Clarification in % | 27,4% | (+1,0%) |
The Volume of Criminality in Districts
the highest number of crimes | Prague 4 Prague 1 | 22 024 (the highest in the CR) 15 935 |
the highest number of crimes /10 thousands inhabitants | Prague 1 Prague 2 | 4 243 (the highest in the CR) 1 496 (the second (the highest in the CR) |
the lowest number of crimes | Prague 7 Prague 3 | 5 029 6 379 |
the highest increase of crimes | Prague 4 Prague 3 | +14,4% +11,6% |
the greatest decrease of crimes | Prague 8 | -4,5% |
Clarification of the criminality in Districts
the highest clarification | Prague 7 Prague 3 | 33,6% 30,7% |
the lowest clarification | Prague 8 Prague 10 | 23,9% (the lowest in the CR) 25,6% (the second lowest in the CR) |
the highest increase of clarification | Prague 1 Prague 2 | +4,9% +2,5% |
the greatest decrease of clarification | Prague 10 | -0,9% |
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Criminal Offenders
The total number of person pursued for criminal activities in Prague reached the number of 12.896 (+6,5%). 8.903 (+4,6%) chased offenders committed a crime for the first time and their share on the total number of offenders was 69% (-1,3%). The most of offenders were between 30 and 40 years of age (21%). 1.531, i.e. 11,9% were persued women. There were 3.919 (+10,8%) habitual offenders chased in total, who represented the share of 30,4% (+1,2%) in the structure of offenders. They committed 9.842 (+17,9%) crimes, i.e. 33,2% (+2,8%) of the crimes in total. Habitual offenders took part mostly in burglaries 54,1% (+6,5%) and simple thefts 43% (+7,0%). The greatest increase of the criminality of habitual offenders concerned 815 crimes (+90%) of economic frauds, they committed 1.272 thefts (+61%) in other objects and 678 burglaries (+66%) in other buildings.
1.389 foreigners (+1,1%) in total were offenders, i.e. 10,8% (-0,6%) of the total number of detected offenders. They committed 3.438 crimes (-0,6%), i.e. the share of 11,6% (-1,0%) of the clarified criminality. The majority of offenders came from Bulgaria, Germany, Slovakia, Ukraine, Russia and Roumania.
Offenders from other regions committed 8.193 crimes, i.e. 28,7% of all clarified crimes (the majority was from the Central Bohemia - 2.765 crimes and Northern Moravia - 2.240) in the territory of Prague in the observed period. This category of offenders together with foreigners represented 40,8% of the clarified criminality in the capital of Prague.
2. Security Risks
2a) Risks with the international element, which are directly connected with the stability of the political system
Legal and Illegal Migration
In 1997 the considerable change in the number of aliens with the long-term and permanent residence permit in the capital did not occurred. Their total number reached 59.358 (-3,0%), 83,1% of them had the long-term residence permit. 26.735 (+25,6%) applications for residence permit were settled positively and 1.245 (+99,2%) applications were rejected. 24.132 (+20,6%) applications for the long-term residence permit were granted. The purpose of the stay was an employment in 51% and business in 31%. The highest numbers of the long-term residence permits were granted to nationals of Ukraine (4.470), Slovakia (4.321), Russia (2.272), USA (1.174), Poland (1.005), Germany (997), Great Britain (905) and China (788). 568 (+6,0%) applications were rejected. 2.603 (+105,9%) applications for the permanent residence permit were granted. The purpose of this immigration was the marriage with the national of the Czech Republic in 61%. The permanent residence permit was granted mostly to nationals of Slovakia (369), Russia (350) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (264). 677 (+660,7%) applications for the above mentioned residence permit were rejected in total.
In 1997 the departure terminal with the check-in hall was opened in the new part of the airport Prague Ruzyni, which operates the international air transportation and which is the border crossing point. The number of checked-in passengers increased in this connection. In 1997 there were 4.987.162 (+30,5%) passengers were and 71.418 (+9,6%) aeroplanes checked-in. 1.434 (+8,1%) persons were returned back from the border crossing point Prague Ruzyni due to non compliance with conditions to enter the territory of the Czech Republic, 203 (-15,1%) passengers used the false travel document. The police registered the considerable increase of dangerous articles, which were excluded from transportation in the number of 83.044 (+54,9%). There were 82 (+12,3%) air police escorts provided, during which 272 (-29,9%) persons were escorted.
2.493 prohibitions on stay and 82 (-7,9%) administrative expulsions were imposed because of the breaking of the residence regime and in connection with illegal activities of aliens. The most of prohibitions was announced to nationals of Ukraine (1.607), Bulgaria (176), Roumania (127), Slovakia (106) and Russia (67). The majority of expelled persons were nationals of Ukraine (39), Algeria (11) and Roumania (6). In the course of the year officers of the Alien and Border Police made 2.702 (+145,6%) controls of the foreigners stay. 17.692 (+148,1%) offences were disclosed. 5.928 of them were settled by the block penalty in the amount of 2.991.700,- CZK.
The Alien and Border Police is concentrated also on the co-operation with the Criminal, Public Order and Traffic Police Services in the course of the investigation, prevention and penalization of the illegal activity of foreigners. Security actions directed to tourist and business centers, railway stations, market-halls and some of the accommodation facilities are organised together.
The Administration of the Capital of Prague advises about the increased occurrence of refugees from countries with the special visa regime at the Prague Ruzyni Airport in 1997, who use the Czech Republic for transit to the illegal immigration to states of the Western Europe. These foreigners travel in smaller groups, however, in the greater extent than in the past years and with exact instructions how to proceed in the territory of the Czech Republic. The increased number of applicants for the political asylum was registered in this connection, especially of nationals of Afghanistan, Iraq, Srí Lanka and Albania. They ask for the political asylum with delay of several hours even days, when it is almost impossible to find out their identity, as they travel either without travel documents or with false documents, which they mostly destroy. They very often do not go to asylum centers or they leave them quickly and migrate to another European countries.
Organised Crime
In 1997 activities of the organised crime were seen in two spheres of the criminality: 1) violent criminality - racketeering, robberies with violence, bodily harm and 2) non-violent criminality - frauds and financial machinations. The first type concerns mainly the clamour of debts and claims among business-men, for which groups of foreigners mainly from the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia are hired. The majority of these cases is not reported by victims because they are afraid of the physical assaults. The second type concerns debts from the category of the economic criminality (frauds, machinations, etc.). According to the Administration of the Capital of Prague offenders are mostly professionals in the financial area or banking.
Activities of the organised crime are notable in the field of drugs as well. 698 crimes (+132 crimes) were detected at the illicit production and possession of drugs and psychotropic substances and poisons, the clarification is 98,7% (-0,8%). 92 crimes (-42 crimes) concerned the dissemination of the addiction, the clarification reached 100% (+0,7%).
Racist conflicts
The criminality of supporters of extremist movements has not changed. The criminality of skinheads supporters and football fans "Hooligans" is concentrated mainly on persons of another race and they are often subject of the bodily harm. Anarchists and autonomists more and more organise the public mass shows, on which they express their opinions by a very aggressive way and protest against socially undesirable phenomena, e.g. racism and fascism. They more frequently express their aversion for the police and state administration authorities. Cases of attacks of the Public Order Police units are not now sporadic and the brutality of attacks is increasing. The number of active skinheads supporters is supposed to be 850 persons in the territory of the capital of Prague, while the number of anarchists, punk movement supporters and autonomists is 380 persons. In 1997 there were 55 crimes and 10 offences committed by supporters of the extremist groups disclosed in total.
2b) Risks directly affecting the level of citizens consciousness of the protection of their freedoms, health and property
Criminality of Young People
Young people committed 3.648 (-15,3%) clarified crimes in total, i.e. 12,3% (-3,4%) of the clarified criminality. The decrease was noted at all categories of criminality, the greatest one was at simple thefts about 19% (disclosed 2.229 crimes) and burglaries about 34,2% (disclosed 447 crimes). 1.490 persons were pursued, i.e. 11,6% of all pursued persons. Children committed 1.384 (-2,7%) crimes and their share on the clarified criminality was 4,7% (-0,5%). They took part mainly in thefts of objects from cars - 582 crimes (+29,9%).
Property Criminality
The property criminality increased of 3,5% (+2.994 crimes), 89.203 crimes concerning property criminality were disclosed in total. The clarification was only 18,7% (-0,3%). There were 60.254 (+6,8%) simple thefts detected, the clarification remained almost on the same level as in 1996, i.e. 11,4% (+0,2%). 10.276 (+8,5%) car thefts were disclosed and the clarification was 7,3 (-0,5%). There were 27.575 (+12,9%) thefts of objects from cars registered, the clarification decreased on 8,3% (-1,7%). The 26% decline of the recorded crimes in the field of pocket thefts occurred, there were 6.235 of them disclosed in total, the clarification decreased on 2,7% (-0,6%). Aliens participated on the clarified pocket thefts by 40,8%. The major part of this criminality has been detected in Prague 1. There were 17.376 (-4,3%) burglaries with the clarification of 12,3% (+1,6%) and 4.033 (-1,3%) burglaries into flats with the clarification of 10% (-1,8%) disclosed. The majority of these crimes has been committed during the day.
Keeping the public informed on the ways of the commitment of this criminality and protection possibilities by means of massmedia continues to belong among preventive measures too.
Economic Criminality
The number of economic crimes was 4.763 crimes (+40,6%) in the observed period and the clarification reached 95,5% (+3,2%). Caused damages are approximately 5,5 thousands of millions CZK (i.e. the increase of 2,5 thousands of millions CZK in comparison with 1996. This increase of damages is mainly influenced by 7 cases of crimes concerning the breaking of the obligatory rules of the economic contacts, the damage of which reached 2,2 thousands of millions. The economic criminality participates by 51,5% (+11,3%) on overall damages.
The crime of fraud (41,5%) represents the biggest part of the economic criminality. There were 1.979 (+45,7%) of them disclosed in total, the clarification amounted to 99,6% (-0,1%). Damages are 948,237.000,- CZK (-42,4%). Frauds are mostly committed by the way of a machination with financial means (money, sales, fees, deposits on accounts, financial funds) - 849 crimes, in contacts between suppliers and customers, when the customer keeps to purchase the goods with the intention to evade the payment (319 crimes) and by the way of the conclusion of fraudulent commercial treaties (277 crimes).
The defalcation (30%) takes the second place in the share on the economic criminality. 1.427 crimes (+34,4%) were disclosed, the clarification reached 99,4% (-0,3%). This criminality is mostly committed by the way of a machination with financial means (crimes) and by the form of the defalcation of materials, equipment and goods (414 crimes). Solved cases were mainly in the field of communications committed by the post-offices employees.
There are other crimes of the economic criminality, the share of which does not exceed 6%, as follows the forgery and alteration of the public document 5,4%, tax evasion 3,3%, thefts 3,2%, breaking of the author s rights 2,9% and the illicit possession of the credit card 2,8%.
The Administration of the Capital of Prague informs about irrelevant punitive measures regarding damages caused by the economic criminality.
Violent Criminality
3.630 violent crimes (+5,9%) were disclosed in total, the clarification was 58,3% (+2,1).
There were 57 murders (+12 crimes) detected (including murders), 42 (+10 crimes) of them were clarified. The most of them was recorded in the district of Prague 4 (10 cases) and Prague 5 (9 cases). 49 persons (9 habitual offenders, 10 foreigners and 1 young person) were prosecuted for murders or the attempt, i.e. 6 offenders more than last year. Victims were in 16 cases aliens (5 from Ukraine, 2 from Russia etc.). The robbery was the most frequent motive (11), then contradictions and quarrels (7), the jealousy (5), mental psychological disorders (3), homosexuality (2), the blood feud (1), the racist motive (1) and murder on order (1), the motive for the rest of 10 clarified cases was not clearly determined.
The number of robberies increased very much (their share of the violent criminality was 42%). 1.539 (+21,2%) of them were disclosed, the clarification was 28,4% (+6,0%). There were 67% street robberies of the total number of robberies. The brutality of robberies offenders is increasing, they mostly use weapons or threats of weapons use (55%). Victims were in 43 cases pensioners, in 273 cases foreigners. Aliens were frequently offenders (141), most of them nationals of Ukraine (67) and Slovakia (25). The highest number of robbery assaults was recorder in the district of Prague 1 (370) and Prague 4 (290). Robbery assaults of taxi drivers increased. There were 381 (+7,9%) crimes of racketeering disclosed, the clarification was 75,3% (+1,6%).
In 1997 the further increase of cases concerning the dissemination of the alarming report on 566 (+12,3%) occurred, the clarification was only 16,6% (+9,5%). Anonymous phone calls about an insertion of an explosive mainly at schools belonged to the most frequent ones. These cases took away a lot of powers of the Public Order Police Service (in the course of 1997 approximately 8.000 policemen of the Administration of the Capital of Prague were engaged in connection with the investigation of allegedly attacked buildings, they worked approximately 12.000 working hours on the anonymous announcements concerning an insertion of an explosive).
There were 72 (+3%) cases of fires disclosed, 10 (-33%) of them were clarified. 10 explosions (+6 cases) were recorded, one of them was clarified.
Moral Criminality
There were 261 moral crimes (-47 crimes) detected, 74,7% (+0,4% of them were clarified. 111 cases of violation were announced in 1997 (the same number as in 1996), 65 (-6 crimes) were clarified.
Security of the Road Traffic
Traffic accidents kept to increase in the territory of Prague in 1997 (as in the only region of the Czech Republic). 39.473 (+3,6%) accidents were recorded in total, in which 90 (+5) persons were killed, 539 (-115) suffered by heavy injuries and 3.720 (-328) by slight injuries. The material damage was appraised on almost 1,41 thousand of millions CZK (-23%). The highest number of accidents was in Prague 4, i.e. 7.638 (+9,9%), followed by Prague 5 with 5.229 (-3,4%) and Prague 10 with 4.470 (-6,3%) accidents, which is predetermined by their area and the length of roads. The highest increase of accidents was in Prague 4 about 9,9% and in Prague 1 about 9,7%. The decrease of the number of accidents was in Prague 10 about 6,3% and Prague 6 about 4,8%. Drivers of motor vehicles caused 94,4% of accidents. Reasons of accidents are all the time the same: the wrong way of driving (23.997, +11,6%), not giving the right of way (10.175, +4,2%), the inadequate speed (3.339, -19,2%) and incorrect overtaking (476, -0,4%).
The unwarranted parking of motor vehicles bring great traffic problems. 10.171 (-4,5%) motor vehicles were impounded in total in 1997. Traffic policemen increased the efficiency of their work. In total they imposed in frames of the law enforcement 106.380 blocked penalties (+2,7%) in the total amount of 29,7 mil. CZK (+19,3%). 805 (+74) drivers were detained for driving motor vehicles under the influence of an alcohol. The traffic policemen took away 11.601 (+100%) technical certificates for the serious defaults in the technical state directly in the traffic.
In the frame of measures the police activity was focused mainly on the most frequented sections of roads and cross-roads, the driving speed control and the prosecution of drivers, whose cars created the bar of the road traffic. 69.559 (+114,4%) offences were disclosed by the use of speed meter and recording devices for the documentation of traffic offences, in 26.385 cases of them blocked penalties followed and the amount of penalties reached 8,3 mil. CZK. The traffic accidents prevention, the control of the cars driving speed in the stable checkpoints equipped with radio-location speed meters and the penalization of drivers of cars creating the bar of the road traffic were determined as the priority tasks in the field of the road traffic supervision for 1998.
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The Administration of the Capital of Prague considers following factors to be further risks:
thefts of cash money from motor vehicles belonging to banks clients in the frame of the property criminality (in 1997 there were 41 cases with the damage of 15 mil. CZK).
The organised group of offenders predicts the person picking-up a big amount of money in the bank, it follows the person and in the right moment damages the tyre of the person s car, then reminds the person of the damaged tyre and during the change of tyres steals the money in the appropriate moment.
professional counterfeits in the frame of the economic criminality:
of payment cards
of credit cards
1996 | 1997 | Change in % +/- | |
Disclosed crimes in total | 99 107 | 104 241 | 5,2 |
Clarified crimes i. e. in % | 26 159 26,4 | 28 541 27,4 | 9,1 - |
Disclosed damages in total (in thousands CZK) | 7 716 723 | 10 744 712 | 39,2 |
Secured damages | 36 349 | 62 457 | 71,8 |
Common criminality | 92 163 | 95 671 | 3,8 |
Clarified crimes i. e. in % | 20 626 22,4 | 21 442 22,4 | 4,0 - |
Violent criminality | 3 428 | 3 630 | 5,9 |
Clarified crimes i. e. in % from that: Robberies Murders Intentional health harm |
1 928 56,2 1 271 45 806 |
2 116 58,3 1 539 57 739 |
9,8 - 21,1 26,7 - 8,3 |
Moral criminality | 308 | 261 | - 15,3 |
Clarified crimes i. e. in % from that: Violation |
229 74,4 111 |
195 74,7 111 |
- 14,8 - 0,0 |
Property criminality | 86 209 | 89 203 | 3,5 |
Clarified crimes i. e. in % | 16 370 19,0 | 16 670 18,7 | 1,8 - |
Burglaries | 18 156 | 17 376 | - 4,3 |
Clarified crimes i. e. in % from that: in flats in week-end houses |
1 954 10,8 4 086 777 |
2 139 12,3 4 033 902 |
9,5 - - 1,3 16,1 |
Simple thefts | 56 400 | 60 254 | 6,8 |
Clarified crimes i. e. in % from that: motor vehicles objects from cars bicycles pocket thefts Frauds |
6 329 11,2 9 472 24 420 1 216 8 428 6 377 |
6 853 11,4 10 276 27 575 1 069 6 235 6 335 |
8,3 - 8,5 12,9 - 12,1 - 26,0 - 0,7 |
Economic criminality | 3 387 | 4 763 | 40,6 |
Clarified crimes i. e. in % from that: frauds embezzlement |
3 128 92,4 1 358 1 062 |
4 550 95,5 1 979 1 427 |
45,5 - 45,7 34,4 |
Capital of Prague - Criminality Development in Separate Districts in 1996 and 1997 | |||||||||||
Year 1996 | Year 1997 | change | |||||||||
Region | disclosed crimes | quantity./ 10th inhab. | clarified crimes | clarification in % | disclosed crimes | quantity./ 10th inhab. | clarified crimes | clarifity in % | disclosed crimes in % | clarifity in % | % of clarifity |
Prague 1 | 15 470 | 3 640 | 3 998 | 23,5 | 15 935 | 4 523 | 4 243 | 28,4 | 3,0 | 24,3 | 4,9 |
Prague 2 | 8 276 | 2 149 | 1 461 | 26,0 | 8 261 | 2 353 | 1 496 | 28,5 | -0,2 | 9,5 | 2,5 |
Prague 3 | 5 716 | 1 795 | 729 | 31,4 | 6 379 | 1 959 | 825 | 30,7 | 11,6 | 9,1 | - 0,7 |
Prague 4 | 19 260 | 4 726 | 645 | 24,5 | 22 024 | 5 727 | 743 | 26,0 | 14,4 | 21,2 | 1,5 |
Prague 5 | 10 747 | 2 638 | 699 | 14,5 | 11 700 | 3 043 | 756 | 26,0 | 8,9 | 15,4 | 1,5 |
Prague 6 | 7 746 | 1 970 | 569 | 25,4 | 7 960 | 2 093 | 588 | 26,3 | 2,8 | 6,2 | 0,9 |
Prague 7 | 5 837 | 1 974 | 1 318 | 33,8 | 5 029 | 1 690 | 1 148 | 33,6 | - 13,8 | - 14,4 | - 0,2 |
Prague 8 | 8 393 | 2 397 | 736 | 28,6 | 8 013 | 1 919 | 711 | 23,9 | - 4,5 | - 19,9 | - 4,6 |
Prague 9 | 7 755 | 2 246 | 597 | 29,0 | 8 614 | 2 591 | 655 | 30,1 | 11,1 | 15,4 | 1,1 |
Prague 10 | 9 907 | 2 624 | 622 | 26,5 | 10 326 | 2 643 | 655 | 25,6 | 4,2 | 0,7 | - 0,9 |
Prague in total | 99 107 | 26 159 | 819 | 26,4 | 104 241 | 28 541 | 867 | 27,4 | 5,2 | 9,1 | 1,0 |
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