Report on the Security Situation in the Czech Republic in 1999
(in comparison with 1998)

Contents

1. Introduction

1999 report on public order and internal security in the territory of the Czech Republic (hereinafter “Report” the name modification does not mean the content modification, on the contrary it clarifies and unifies the name of the Report with its name as it is determined in the Submission Report to this Report ) was compiled from the documents of the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Finance (including the Customs Headquarters), Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Transport and Communications, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Environment, The National Security Office, Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office, State Information System Office, Patent Office and documents of Ministry of Interior and the Czech Police.

The representatives of the above mentioned institutions prepared the grounds which related to the public order and internal security of the Czech Republic from the point of view of those institutions.

The document submitted assesses the security situation in the Czech Republic in 1999 (in comparison with 1998). The report aims to:

The report is divided into two parts. The first part contains two chapters and annexes. The first chapter contains data on crime, developments in individual kinds of crime and security risks, offenders and victims of crimes (including sociological survey results focused on security risks, citizens´ trust in security policy institutions, their feelings of being in danger, victimisation trends). It contains a set of measures taken and being taken (on the basis of the analysis contained in Chapter 1) to restrict crime and security risks and to increase citizens’ security. The conclusion of Chapter 1 consists of a summary and an account of future security risks in terms of public order and internal security. The Annex contains tables (tables and charts shown in detailed basic data published in Chapter 1) and signal information from the research “1999 Security Risks” – Current trends in public relations to crimes.

The second part deals with public order situation and internal security in individual regions of the Czech Republic in 1999; it describes specific features and risk factors in the regions.

The used statistic data (in both the first and the second parts) are based on the criminal statistics (unless a different source is indicated, e.g. the Ministry of Justice statistics). Crime records are based on the lists of crimes elaborated partially by criminal law aspects, and partially by criminological aspects. The crimes are recorded in the criminal statistics on the basis of notifications from citizens or facts ascertained by the Czech police indicating that a crime has been committed. The criminal statistics results are not directly comparable with the Ministry of Justice statistics, which is responsible for the State Prosecutor’s Office and court statistics. This is caused by time differences. In some cases, there are differences of several years between the termination of the actual case in individual phases of prosecution. The police statistics record the cases in their very beginning, while the court statistics record them once they are closed.

The basic units of the police statistics are “a crime” and “an offender”. A meaning of these expressions is however wider than it is in the court statistics. As it was indicated above, the police statistics contain “the facts indicating that a crime has been committed” (see Sec.158 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). On the other hand, the court statistics do not include crimes and offenders whose prosecution was abated according to Sec.159 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (for example, the offender was a juvenile or insane or there was an amnesty), according to Sec.172 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (for example a crime has not been proven to be committed by the offender) or the prosecution was suspended. The police statistics record as detected those cases where criminal-law qualification is ascertained and the suspect is known. In other words, in those cases the charge has been lodged or it would have been lodged if the offender had not been juvenile. The court statistics records the crimes according to Sec.3 of the Criminal Code. A sentenced person is a person who was lawfully sentenced and the sentence has come into effect.

Crime statistics provide an official picture of crime in society. They only reproduce a certain part of the actual extent of crime and do not express so-called latent crime. A range of crimes, which are not recorded, depends on the kind of crime and it can be changed in time under the influence of variable factors (e.g. citizens’ willingness to report crimes, police work intensity, insurance aspect, inspection, etc.). The police statistics do not cover and cannot cover the differences in efforts made, resources and time used for detection of crimes. In assessing offenders` crime we must take into account the fact that the data only refers to the proportion of crimes cleared up. To have the most comprehensive picture of crime the police statistics also contain detected crimes committed by children who have not yet reached the decisive age for the responsibility of crime. The results of police statistics indicate some security trends and they are the base for formulation of security policy. They however cannot be overestimated since citizens’ attitudes to the security situation, European integration and international co-operation priorities, state’s economic interests, etc. are also essential for formulation of successful security policy.

Contents


Copyright © 2001 Ministerstvo vnitra České republiky
| úvodní stránka |