The territorial criminality extension has remained without any change in comparison with previous years. The capital of Prague, the Northern Moravia and Southern Moravia are regions with the highest number of disclosed crimes. The capital of Prague remains on the first place after the conversion on 10 thousands inhabitants followed with a half distance by the Central Bohemia and the Northern Bohemia - so it is possible to say that inhabitants in these regions are exposed to the criminality the most. Besides the capital of Prague, the increase of the criminality has continued also in the Central Bohemia and Southern Moravia, a little less in the Southern Bohemia and Western Bohemia. The number of disclosed crimes stagnate in other regions and it has been long-termly decreasing in the Eastern Bohemia. After the conversion on 10 thousands inhabitants the Eastern Bohemia is on the last place in the disclosed criminality followed ba the Southern Moravia and Southern Bohemia.
The value of disclosed damages is a very serious problem. The overall disclosed damages decreased in the Czech Republic, however the development if different in separate regions. The highest damages are in Prague, in the Southern Moravia and Eastern Bohemia, where they are still growing. The final amount of damages is substantially influenced by car thefts and the economic criminality (in the capital of Prague car thefts represent 21% from the overall damages and the economic criminality even 52%).
Habitual offenders participated in the offenders structure mostly in the Northern Moravia (33,4%) and Northern Bohemia (31,7%), where their number increased remarkably in the same time (+6,3%). They are still concentrated on the property criminality committed serially (burglaries into week-end houses and flats, property frauds), however their share on the economic criminality increased substantially as well.
The problems connected with illegal, but also legal migration are the permanent burden for the majority of regions. Foreigners commit the criminality mostly in the territory of the capital of Prague (10,8%, it was 11,4% in 1996), where they participate in the criminality almost twice as much as in other regions of the Czech Republic. The increase of illegal stays and illegal employement of foreigners has still occurred according to the Administration of the Central Bohemia, but also other regions. This increase is caused by the flow of construction workers from the Eastern Europe. These persons are very difficult to investigate because of their movement and as they are not on record. The Administration of the Central Bohemia indicates that the illegal migration is apparently the destabilization element of the political system. Current legal rules and insufficient police jurisdictions enable the stay for those foreigners, from which groups of the criminality offenders and organised crime are formed.
The activity of extremist groups has not changed substantially in regions, the majority of police administrations assesses the situation as stabilized. The Administration of the Northern Bohemia received information on the certain split among skinheads supporters, the fact that many of the most active movement supporters are currently at the military service is very positive. The Northern Bohemia and the capital of Prague warns of the aggressivity of the radical groups of football fans "Football Hooligans" (e.g. there are 50 persons in the opertive attention in Teplice). The racist manifestations and the national intolerance have occurred as well as attacks against organizers and policemen. The situation, which has been recorded with small partial changes in all cities, where the first and the second leagues of the Czech-Moravian Football League are to be played, creates a substantial burden for the police, which has to react in time and to strengthen the direct duty performance.
The development of prosecuted and investigated children (until 15 years of age) was from the territorial point of view comparatively heterogeneous, meanwhile the number of young (between 15 and 18 years of age) offenders has decreased in the whole territory. The highest number of children and young offenders of crimes is permanently characteristic for the Northern Moravia. The number of children offenders has increased in this region as well. In some regions the numbers of offenders - children an young people are getting almost equal, e.g. in the Northern Moravia 2.109 children were investigated and prosecuted and 2.386 young people, in the Northern Bohemia the number of children (1.850) even exceeds the number of young people (1.821). The share of children on the thefts of objects from cars was 86% in Ostrava. The youth criminality shows many times in this criminal activity the elements of the organised crime. The participation of youth in the organised criminality in the field of drugs is not less serious (e.g. in the Northern Moravia the children took part in the addiction dissemination with 50%, children and young people together 78% in total).
Property Criminality has been still growing in the capital of Prague (+2.994 crimes) and in the Southern Bohemia (+2.921 crimes). The increase of the simple thefts has continued in Prague as well as in the Central Bohemia (motor vehicles - in Prague of 8,5%, in the Central Bohemia of 7,5% and objects from cars - in Prague of 12,9% and in the Central Bohemia of 18,6%). In the Central Bohemia burglaries increased (+9,7%) in comparison with the whole republic development, which is decreasing. Burglaries into flats increased the most remarkably within the Czech Republic in the Central Bohemia (+14,7%). The burglaries into recreation facilities increased mostly in Prague (+16,1%) and in the Eastern Bohemia (+8,4%).
Car thefts problem has been profounded permanently, car thefts have already highly qualified and organised character and are committed by foreigners connected with nationals of the Czech Republic. Their number increased in all regions during the screened period except for the Eastern Bohemia. Regional administrations state together that this criminality is together with thefts of objects from cars (which increased also in the Eastern Bohemia) one of the most dangerous. The quality of overworked stolen cars is increasing and cars are very difficult to be identified.Returning back the stolen cars against so called contribution is a very serious problem. Victims very often do not announce this fact because of the fear of offenders revenge. This serious crime is not sufficiently supported by the legislation according to regional administrations. The number of frauds with leasing companies cars and frauds in connection with the announcement of the stolen car, which was not stolen, is increasisng. Regional administrations try to solve this critical situation in the car thefts sphere and thefts of objects from cars by the number of actions and measures.
Burglaries into church buildings in the field of the cultural sights have remained the problem, caused damages have been growing remarkably. The Administration of the Southern Moravia warns of the new type of the criminality, in which offenders are concentrated on irreplaceable cultural values, e.g. manuscripts, incunabules, old prints and other records. The extensive criminality was disclosed in the Moravian Provincial Archives and in the library of the Augustinian monastery in Brno. Policemen co-operate during these investigations by means of Interpol with a lot of European countries.
The economic criminality is still typical by the transfer from the simple forms to the more complicated and serious ones, which are much more difficult to disclose and to prove. The great increase of the economic criminality concerned all regions, except the Northern Moravia (-11,9%), the highest one was discovered in the Southern Moravia (+42,4%), the capital of Prague (+40,6%) and in the Northern Bohemia (+40,4%). The majority of regional administrations warns of the growth of crimes connected mainly with the complicated forms of tax delicts. Embezzlements increased in all regions, mostly in the Southern Bohemia (+96,1%).
The violent criminality almost stagnated in total, with the exception of the Central Bohemia (+7,1%) and the capital of Prague (+5,9%), where its highest increase occurred in the absolute amounts. Regional administrations warn of the increasisng aggressivity of violent criminality offenders and the use of a gun more frequently in order to stress the attack. The violent criminality is very often connected with the property criminality (e.g. robberies, thefts, racketeering). The criminality of foreigners has begun to be seen in this area (e.g. in Prague and in the Central Bohemia foreigners were involved in 19% of the clarified murders), however foreigners are also victims very often (in Prague 16 foreigners were among 57 victims - 2 from Russia and 5 from Ukraine). The high share of habitual offenders on murders is a serious problem (in the majority of regions it moves around 40%).
The problems of prostitution have remained also now the local problem of the border crossing points and tourist centers, there were no important deviations in its development resulting from analysis of the regional administrations. According to the Administration of the Northern Bohemia information there is the change of groups engaged with the prostitution in the area of route E-55, where the groups of Ukrainians, Bulgarians, nationals from the former Yugoslavia and Russia slowly drive out the Romany population, which iniciated the prostitution there in the previous years. The substantial decrease of the street prostitution was the result of the acceptance of further measures, however this prostitution moved to various "night clubs" in the same localities.
The aimed security and preventive actions and a large number of inter-district and inter-regional security traffic actions (e.g. in the Southern Moravia 768 actions and measures were held in total), the whole republic, regional, district as well as local ones were organised in all regions. The establishment of special groups in localities with the increased criminality has proved to be good.
The aimed concentration of powers and means of the police had the infuence on the prevention of the serious or mass breaking of the public order. Dates of meetings of extremist groups are investigated and before their initiation transported persons are controlled at the stations etc., which abolish their anonymity and thus their aggressivity decreases.
The majority of regional administrations consider absolutely necessary to make the foreigners residence granting regime stricter and to enact the obligatory co-operation of all regional authorities of the state administration regarding the limitation of foreigners migration and their illicit employement in the Czech Republic.
Some regions are burdened by problems, which represent by their relevance the security risk for these regions. For the Administration of the Northern Moravia they are threatening phone calls concerning the placement of booby traps - the dissemination of the alarming information for their serious nature as well as for the striking character of the growth of cases and the difficult clarification. In 1997 there were 249 cases recorded in the Northern Moravia representing the increase of 22 cases. Tasks of the police after the receipt of an announcement seem to be a great burden for the respective police units. Thefts of cash money from motor vehicles belonging to bank clients represent the security risk for the Administration of the Capital of Prague (41 cases with the damage approx. 15 mil. CZK occurred in the screened period) and then professional forgeries of payment and credit cards.