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

Contents

Annex 2
Actual Trends in the Public's Attitude Towards Crime

Signal information from the research „1999 Security Risks“
Doc. PhDr. Jiří Buriánek, CSc

In May 1999, the agency UNIVERSITAS performed under the grant of the Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic (prepared by doc. dr. J. Buriánek, CSc) the survey “1999 Security Risks” that in its main part assessed the public's opinion on the security situation in the Czech Republic and focused also on all issues of committed and perceived crimes and violence. A part of this research and an independent questionnaire attached to it specifically concentrated on elementary manifestations and the context of “home” violence (i.e. violence in families). This sociological survey established a strategy combining a large, comprehensive research with an operative diagnosis of the actual topic. The follow-up grant project - “Continual Research of Victimisation and Citizens' Safety Feeling” (2000 - 2001) - will be prepared in the same way.

Methodology
Sociological research “1999 Security Risks” was implemented in May 1999 using the method of standardised interviews in the whole territory of the Czech Republic. Altogether 1,361 people older than 14 years (from 15 years including) were interviewed while the used criteria (age, sex, education, economic activity) ensured that the selected set of people was representative. In the case of an attached questionnaire the interviewed persons filled in and sent by regular mail about 25 questions printed on a separate sheet. The results of the questionnaire are processed independently. Of the total original number of interviewed persons (1,361) only 900 participated in filling in the questionnaires, i.e. that its total responsiveness is 60 per cent. We are submitting in this signal report only some selected findings from the main part of the research. We have decided to express the proportion of individual answers as a percentage of the total answers. Due to rounding off numbers the sums do not always have to be 100 %. An in-depth analysis of the results and statistic testing of coherence will be contained in the final report from this project phase.

Set - Basic Description
In the data set gained we find an equal share of men and women (50:50). The Average age of respondents is 40 years. 97 % of interviewed persons acknowledged their Czech nationality.

Age:  
    up to 25     26-35     36-45     46-55     55+    
    24     19     17     23     17  

Marital status:    
1. Married 54
2. With a permanent partner (for a long time) 7
3. Single 25
4. Divorced, widower/widow 14
 
The highest finished education:  
1. Primary 10
2. Apprenticeship certificate, lower secondary 29
3. Secondary (A-level) 50
4. University 11
 
Number of family members:
  1 2 3 4 5 6    
  9 22 21 32 11 6

Social status - self-assessment:  
1. Low level 3
2. Lower middle level 28
3. Middle level 54
4. Higher middle level 10
5. High level 1
6. I do not know 4

Economic position
1. Full time employment 59
2. Part-time employment (less than 30 hours a week) 6
3. Entrepreneur (a company up to 10 employees), freelance 8
4. Entrepreneur (company over 10 employees) 13
5. Unemployed 3
6. Maternity leave 2
7.Long-term disease, disabled, handicapped 1
8. Student 10
9. Pensioner 10
10. Other 1
 
The type of houses at the place of permanent residence
1. Older block of flats near the city centre 15
2. Older block of flats on the city outskirts 15
3. New block of flats, no tower blocks, detached houses 8
4. New block of flats, tower blocks 26
5. Family houses, villas 22
6. Older village houses (farms, homesteads, etc.) 14
 
Number of inhabitants in a city/village
1. Less than 2,000 inhabitants 21
2. 2,000 - 10,000 inhabitants 26
3. 10,000 - 50,000 inhabitants 24
4. 50,000 - 100,000 inhabitants 9
5. More than 100,000 inhabitants 12
6. Prague 8

Other data sources

In evaluating security risks apart from statistics an important role is played by the data gained from the targeted research of the public's experiences, attitudes and responses. The latest findings from the research “1999 Security Risks” can be supplemented by the data gathered from the research “Public's Attitudes to Crime and Relative Social Deprivation” (J. Burinánek, FF UK, GAČR grant 403/98/0395) where the data gathering was finished in November 1998. A representative sample of the Czech population - over 15 - was interviewed. The sample comprised 1,719 persons. To indicate the trend it is possible to also use the data from an older research performed by the same author in 1995.

This report also uses some data from IVVM researches.

1999 VICTIMISATION

In comparison with highly specialised victimisation research, a more favourable picture comes up (in our research we, of course, do not register a threat or an attempt of an offence). Moreover,compared with 1998, the proportion of citizens directly hit by a crime slightly decreased: from 28 % (for a two-year period 1997 - 1998) to 19 = (however this figure from 1999 includes only a year and a half, i.e. 1998 - May 1999!).

9. Did any of the below mentioned persons fall victim to a crime (property or violence)?  
  Yes No
A. Any member of your household 22 77
B. Anyone of your relatives or neighbours 40 59
 
10. Did anything happen to you personally what could be considered a crime?
1. YES 19  
2. NE 78  
 
11. If anything happened to you, state what kind of crime it was (maximum two crimes in the sequence of:
  1st place 2nd place     1st place in %
of crime victims
1. Murder of, attempt of a murder     2
2. Rape     2
3. Robbery, robbery assault     2
4. Violent attack, assault 1.2   6
5. Burglary 3.2   18
6. Car theft 3.0   16
7. Other theft, intentional property damage 4.3 1.5 23
8. Fraud (investment company, travel agency, insurance company)     5
9. Extortion, racketeering     2
10. Street larceny or pickpocket 2.8 1.1 15
11. Bullying, harassment, ill-treatment, abuse     2
12. Other crime     4
13. He/she refused to specify, it is impossible to specify     3
 
12. Did you report any of the crimes to the police or anybody else?
1. Yes, to the police 15
2. Yes, to the representative of another organisation (state authority, doctor, etc.) 0
3. No, only to my close family 3
4. No, to nobody 1
5. Did not respond - not applicable 80

Citizens' victimisation probably has not risen; it has not exceeded the level of 20 % over the period longer than a year (in retrospect mainly to the year 1998). It is likely that the stabilised proportion of victims corresponds with the data in the police statistics. Those confirm the increase of crimes committed however, this finding can be impacted by the fact that the citizens report a larger portion of the crimes committed! Our research repeatedly confirms quite a considerable recent shift in the population's behaviour when three of four victims apparently reported a crime to the police. The previous research placed the estimations of reported crimes to a level at approximately half of the cases, although the level fluctuated from the maximum (car theft reporting) to the minimum values (sexual violence). There is a trend of social differences in the field of co-operation with the police. For example, young people (under 25 years of age) did not report offences relatively so often. The same applies to people with a lower social status.

13. When you reported an offence, what was your experience with the police responsiveness?
      1. Immediate and efficient 1  
2. adequate to the situation, quite good 7
3. Lengthy, non-operative 5
4. Reluctant, unpleasant 1
5. Practically none 1
6. Nothing was reported 4
7. The question was not answered 80

14. Why do not people often report smaller or larger attacks?
It is: very
often
quite
often
        rarely almost
never
1/ They do not believe the offender will be apprehended 42 41 15 2
2/ They do not like questioning and writing reports 28 45 22 4
3/ The do not believe to the police as such 17 37 39 7
4/ The are ashamed of being a crime victim 8 23 43 25
5/ They are afraid of a subsequent attack from the same offender 18 34 38 10
6/ They usually think that the damage is low or the matter cannot be rectified 20 37 34 9

The replies to the question number 13 indicate that half of those who reported an offence to the police consider their reaction to be at least quite good and adequate to the situation. It can be deemed as an encouraging outcome. Only one out of eight of this group states his/her negative experience (reluctant response or no reaction), the rest of the interviewed persons concede the reaction to be lengthy and slow.

It is clear that the principal reason why people do not report a crime is the doubt to whether the offender will be caught, or unwillingness to undergo all police questioning and investigation. The statement “do not believe the police” relates to the people generally; if it is taken individually its weight would not be so considerable. In the question “Which of the stated reasons would apply to you?” the persons participating in the survey made a choice from 6 options.

  • most    
46% do not believe the offender will be caught, 19% do not want to be investigated
  • less    
37% shame, 19% small damage

SECURITY SITUATION EVALUATION BY CITIZENS

Until recently a range of surveys of public opinion confirmed an almost steady position of crime and its variations on the various scales of actual social problems. The previous research (held in November 1998) also indicated that it was necessary to take into account the fact that a part of the public would change their attitude towards the economic issues. The latest data from 1999 confirm such a trend (see Chart 1).

Problem perception in 1999

2. Which of the current problems in our society do you consider to be the most important?
  1st place     2nd place
1. Crime generally, violence 18 16
2. Organised crime 7  
3. Crimes committed by some groups (including ethnic conflicts) 5  
4. Economic development 29 15
5. Unemployment 19 1914
6. Living standard, prices 10  
7. Health care 3  
8. Environment 3  
9.Other 6  

4. In which areas do you currently perceive larger problems personally?
Scale 1 - None 3 - Large, but resolvable 8 - Do not know, N/A
  2 - Only small ones 4 - Large, almost unresolvable  
A. Satisfaction with work 18 33 23 9 18
B. Income/financial problems 11 36 38 13 3
C. Flat/house 44 31 17 7 2
D. Security (yours personally,your family's) 37 49 10 2 2

The citizens are still anxious of a number of partial problems, a part of which involves, of course, security risks. We can name the concerns relating to organised crime, drug issues and to a general increase in aggression and violence in the society. (These concerns may relate to the behaviour of special groups.)

5. There are many different problems in our society. In the list below indicate how large is your concern.
Scale: 1 - I am not anxious at all 3 - I am more anxious
  2 - I am a bit anxious 4 - I am very anxious
A. Health care situation 10 33 36 20
B. Unemployment 4 21 34

41

C. Environment situation 6 38 40 16
D. Individualisation of life, no interest shown in problems of other people 9 36 38 17
E. Drugs and their spreading 5 23 34

38

F. Retirement security 14 31 34 21
G. Aggression and violence 2 20 40

38

H. war and danger of war 10 32 32 26
I. Frauds in investments and financial transactions 6 25 37

32

J. Organised crime such as organised car thefts, trade in drugs
and weapons, extortion
3 18 34

42

K. Rise of bureaucracy, state authority arrogance 5 31 41 23

At the moment we cannot expect any further extension to feeling of the relative social deprivation that could strengthen the subjective concerns of citizens, especially in the area of security risk perception. On the other hand, there is a certain “risk neutralisation” in the sense that a part of population has adapted to the risks-not only by subjectively declared lower perception of concerns, but those people also conformed their behaviour.

The feeling of being threatened and changes in behaviour

To subjectively assess the country's security situation the paraphrase of the Czech saying “It is worse everywhere and is best at home”. Almost 80 % of the people interviewed in the recent years have stated the poor situation in the country. However, we can suppose a strong influence of media here.

1. The majority of population account the security situation for a serious problem How would you assess the current situation (i.e. May 1999):
  1. Very good 2. quite good 3. a bit worse 4. very bad 5. Do not know
a/in the country 1 22 55 21 1
b/in your city/village 6 57 29 6 1
c/in the environs of your residence 12 58 23 4 2

In 1995, 37 % of people assessed the situation in the environs of their home as more or less bad, while in 1999 it was only 27 % of interviewed people.

The latest research confirms the existing discrepancy between the security feeling at home and in the street always in the evening - the last two columns in Table 1 offers a comparison to 1998). It is interesting that especially people living in Prague and in smaller cities (10 - 50 thousand inhabitants) had the feeling of security being at home in the evening. On the contrary, the situation in large cities with more than 100 thousand inhabitants is perceived as much worse.

Table 1 - Feeling of security being at home in the evening (at domicile) in 1998

  Municipality size
(domicile)
Security at
home environs
Security at home % up to 2 thous. to 10 thous. to 50 thous. to 100 thous. over 100 thous. Prague     TOTAL     TOTAL  
   Very safe 31.5 26.4 33.6 20.6 26.6 40.4 29.8 9.1    
   Quite safe 52.0 55.4 51.2 60.3 47.7 43.4 52.2 50.3
   Less safe 14.1 13.6 11.1 13.7 19.3 12.7 13.7 30.1
   Quite unsafe 2.0 4.4 3.6 4.4 6.0 3.0 3.8 10.0
   Do not know 0.3 0.3 0.5 1.0 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.6
Total N 298 390 441 204 218 166 1,717 1,717  
  % 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100  

Our data from 1999 demonstrate in both parameters a favourable trend for a reduction in concerns:

    1995 1998 1999
Security at home in the evening ++ 31 30 26
  + 37 52 60
  - 24 14 11
  - - 7 4 3
  ? 0 1 0
Security in the home environs in the evening ++ 9 9 9
  + 32 50 53
  - 38 30 30
  - - 21 10 7
  ? 0 1 2
++ = feels very safely
- - = does not feel safety at all

In any case we can notice at least a sort of adaptation to the new security conditions. It is obvious in the subjective evaluation of the crime trend development - the most favourable is again in relation to the place, where people live (domicile).

7. Do you feel that in the course of the last two years the number of crimes committed in our country has increased or decreased?
  Increase Decrease The same Do knot know
A. Total level of crime in the Czech Republic

69

4 21 6
B. Child and juvenile crime 82 2 11 5
C. Crimes at the place where you live
   (village/city, quarter)
25 5

54

16

People usually react to the risks perceived actively - especially in the following cases:
- they avoid dangerous places
- they avoid a certain type of people
- they are accompanied by another person
This kind of behaviour applies mainly to women.

40. The following question relates to the behavioural manners that could be used as a protection against crimes. For each item indicate whether and how often do you use such behaviour. If you have to go out in the evening alone, do you try to protect yourself from a crime by:
  Never Sometimes Often Always
A. going by car or taxi 31 42 20 7
B: avoiding public means of transport 53 30 11 6
C: avoiding empty streets, squares, parks 13 35 29 23
D. avoiding juveniles, suspicious persons passing by 12 36 31 21
E. taking tear gas with you, a stick, knife, firearm, etc. 64 22 8 7
F. being accompanied by somebody 28 37 27 9
 
41. In your city/village are there any
  YES PERHAPS
YES
NO DO NOT
KNOW
A. preventative programmes to decrease crime 5 14 32 49
B. technical security systems (cameras) 16 16 44 24
C. neighbour patrols 1 4 70 26
D. specially dangerous areas, risky places 16 25 40 18

The tendency to develop citizens' “do-it-yourself” activities has not showed so far. The fact that people are not informed of preventative programmes can be striking. On the other hand, a great part of the persons interviewed live in quite small municipalities.

RISK PERCEPTION - ACTUAL CONCERNS AND PROBABILITY OF BEING AFFECTED BY A CRIME

If citizens give their opinions on actual risks the scale, which is quite similar to the statistical picture of the crime structure, shows that people are anxious of crimes of violence. The following sequence resulted from the answers of interviewed persons (according to the proportion of “big concerns”, i.e. answers 8 - 10 using a 10 point scale).

    1998 1999
car thefts 41 44
burglary to a house 40 38
nuisance 17 20
robbery 17 21
harassment 12 14
rape 11 16
burglary to a flat 11 13
murder 10 14

In the majority of the compared items we can see higher concerns. For further details see below.

Real proportions are, of course, in many cases shifted. For example, in 1998 only three quarters of interviewed people owned a car. In the group of owners the proportion of big concerns relating to a car reached 51 %. The fact that a big concern relating to car theft was indicated also by 23 % of those persons who did not own a car proves that the phenomenon called “concerns” is very specific. (Of course, in the above case the people could express their concerns relating to the cars of their neighbours, relatives, or might have intended to buy a car, etc.). Men indicate only negligible concerns relating to sexual crimes, however almost a quarter of women is anxious about this type of offence. The basic trend can be expressed with the help of an average assessment on the scale of concerns - see Chart 3 (data for 1998!).

Concerns and probability of being affected by a crime - 1999
 
21. We are interested in to what extent the citizens being anxious of falling a victim to a crime. Using the scale from one to ten express how much you are anxious about the following offences:
Scale: 1 - No concerns………10 - Maximum concerns
  Average 1-3(%) 8-10(%)
A. car theft 6.11 27 44
B. Burglary in the house (flat) when you are not at home 6.38 17 38
C. Burglary in the flat, while you are at home 4.09 49 13
D. Robbery, assault in the street 5.14 31 21
E. Rape or sexual attack 3.75 57 16
F. Murder 3.92 56 14
G. Nuisance by young boys, gangs of juveniles 4.75 39 20
H. Sexual harassment, inappropriate allusions or calls 3.57 60 14
I. Extortion, racketeering, kidnapping 3.19 66 8
J. Pickpocket, handbag theft, thefts in shops, restaurants, etc. 6.28 17 36
K. Fraud (in investment companies, travel agencies) 5.54 27 28
L. Bullying (at work), illegal procedures of employers 3.76 56 12
M. Misuse of personal data, illegal pursuance, illegal bugs, etc. 4.24 46 15
N. Terrorist attack, bomb attack 3.02 70 8
O. Injury to health, sever injury to health, physical assault 4.72 38 17
P. Giving bribes 3.62 55 10
Q. Car accident (you are not at fault) 6.40 16 40

221. With no regards whether you are anxious or not, how likely are you to personally fall victim to a crime in the city quarter or in the village where you live.
Scale: 1 - It is out of questions………10 - It is very likely
  Average 1-3(%) 8-10(%)
A. car theft 5.27 34 29
B. Burglary in the house (flat) when you are not at home 6.54 26 26
C. Burglary in the flat, when you are at home 3.37 62 6
D. Robbery, assault in the street 4.03 49 9
E. Rape or sexual attack 2.81 72 6
F. Murder 2.89 73 5
G. Nuisance by young boys, gangs of juveniles 4.08 50 13
H. Sexual harassment, inappropriate allusions or calls 3.07 69 8
I. Extortion, racketeering, kidnapping 2.42 80 3
J. Pickpocket, handbag theft, thefts in shops, restaurants, etc. 5.22 32 24
K. Fraud (in investment companies, travel agencies) 4.37 43 15
L. Bullying (at work), illegal procedures of employers 3.16 66 7
M. Misuse of personal data, illegal pursuance, illegal bugs, etc. 3.50 61 9
N. Terrorist attack, bomb attack 3.24 83 3
O. Injury to health, sever injury to health, physical assault 3.93 51 10
P. Giving bribes 3.41 61 8
Q. Car accident (you are not faulty) 5.83 20 29

  1998        1999
car theft * 29 (% of “big risk”, 8-10)
car accidents * 29
burglary (both house and flat) 20 26
mugging (in public, in the street) 17 24
nuisance (by juveniles etc.) 13 13
physical assault, bodily injury 7 10
raid (robbery with violence) 12 9
sexual harassment 7 8
sexual assault 6 *
rape 6 6
murder 4 5

On the scale from 1999, both the big concern and big probability of a car theft and a car accident are in the first place (as for “the big probability” it is 29 % of the total, while 76 % of interviewed people owned a car in 1999, therefore the figure relating to the average concern is misleading). We can see here that t a lot of women - about 13 per cent - assessed the probability of falling victim to a sexual offence as quite high.

Correlation to age is significant, but differs. Older people express concerns relating to crimes against property, while younger people are concerned of sexual offences. Regarding nuisance in the streets (e.g. by gangs of young boys), the people in the oldest age categories, as well as in the youngest age categories, are very sensitive.

To illustrate the situation, we are providing older information (1998) on how concerns relate to social position. Wealthy people differ from other persons by a higher index of concerns relating to crimes against property (car thefts, burglary) then nuisance murders or rape. In the assessment of probability, the opinions of the wealthy people and interviewed people from other social levels, which are quite homogenous, more or less correspond. Our previous findings are confirmed as well; subjective descriptions (attitudes, concerns, anxiety) did not demonstrate social differences too strongly. It will probably be projected to more or less the real probability of victimisation.

At the end of this Chapter we provide the data on children and youth's perceptions of being threatened. The average value of concern index is higher than with persons interviewed individually. This fact confirms the importance of assessment of circumstances in terms of child rearing.

39. If you have children aged 15 - 17 how anxious you are about the possibility that your child:
Scale. 1 - No anxiety……………10 - Maximal anxiety
  Average Big concerns (8 -10) %
A. would become a member of gang or street gang 5.84 23
B. could be murdered 5.23 26
C. could become a drug addict 6.30 40
D. could fall victim to a car accident 7.38 55

TRUST IN INSTITUIONS

The long-term research of the IVVM agency show that confidence in social institutions has been stabilised. The post-revolution euphoria seems to have evaporated a bit but it is interesting that the proportion of people who do not trust the institutions is approximately the same. (As for the trust of police it is closely under 60 %). In spite of that this area has seen a positive development in recent years.

Table 2. Trust in institutions (IVVM)

  1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
police 41 48 52 49 38 39 38 33 37 41 46
courts of justice 28 29 29 37 30 38 34 32 26 27 32

In our research held in 1998, full or partial trust in the police was declared to be 52% of the interviewed people; even 60% of the interviewed people in 1999.

42. Could you evaluate how you trust the following institutions today?
  Full Certain Little None Do not
know
A. Courts of justice 5 42 36 8 9
B. Czech Police 5 55 32 5 3
C. Municipal Police 4 36 39 15 6
D Private security agencies 2 18 35 24 21
E. State Prosecutor's Offices 5 38 29 6 22
F. Prisons 4 30 30 10 27
G. Army 7 42 29 10 12
H. Ministry of Interior 3 29 36 13 19
I. Czech Intelligence Service 2 18 33 20 28
 
43. How are you satisfied with the police work?
   1. very satisfied 1  
   2. quite satisfied 24
   3. it depends 53
   4. quite dissatisfied 19
   5. very dissatisfied 3

In large cities (except for Prague) the attitude of people, in terms of trusting the police, is more critical. Subjective perception of risks and the capabilities of institutions to manage them lead to a more negative picture than in other places. Wealthy people trust the police more than people of the lower social levels.

An equally important issue is a lower level of trust of people in the lower social levels who can feel socially excluded. In such cases we can speak about a more complex attitude syndrome in which the feelings of being threatened are mixed with distrust and scepticism. A lower level of trust indicated by young people can also become a problem.

Satisfaction with the Police

Satisfaction with police work involves a higher number of different aspects (perhaps also in the context of “historical” comparison). In common omnibus surveys of the IVVM satisfaction with police work was as follows:

  1990 1992 1994 1996 1998
the proportion of more or less satisfied people 24 37 40 43 47
the proportion of dissatisfied people 70 54 55 46 44

If this trend continues, an interesting phenomenon will turn up: a long-term increased level of victimisation, combined with the symptoms of crises and overall lower satisfaction of the people, will not disturb trust in institutions but will increase satisfaction with police work.

The attitudes towards the police involve a range of various aspects. The actual level of opinions of the Czech public (i.e. in 1999) are demonstrated by the following sets. These sets allow for a detail comparison with the research performed for the Ministry of Interior in 1995, however this is not our goal just now.

44. I am going to read to you several statements on observation laws in our town/village. Using the scale below express your agreement or disagreement.
Scale: 1- I absolutely agree 3 - I do not know 4 - I quite disagree
  2- 2 - I quite agree   5 - I absolutely disagree
A. I am satisfied how the police protect my home environs 4 39 22 29 6
B. I rarely meet policemen in the street where I live 30 38 11 18 3
C. The police in our town/village treat everybody the same way without regard to who the person is 5 24 44 21 6
D. The police help solve problems in the nearest environs 3 36 39 19 3
E. The police are a real “friend and assistant” to citizens 2 20 33 34 11
F. The police approach the victims of crimes respectably and help them 2 31 39 24 5
G. The police's behaviour contributes to clashes and skirmishes 2 18 32 38 10

45. Try to assess the police's behaviour. The police:
Scale: 1. Maximally/usually 2. Much 3. It depends 4. Little 5. Minimally/never
 
Average  
A. concentrate mainly on punishments and sanctions 2.48 11 39 40 9 1
B. do not disturb anybody without having a reason 2.99 5 16 59 18 3
C. try to prevent crimes 3.38 2 15 31 45 7
D. solve the issues with delays, in a bureaucratic way 2.33 16 44 33 7 1
E. concentrate on risky places 2.9 5 29 40 23 3
F. help is quick and available 3.19 2 13 54 27 4
G. in a number of cases, provoke citizens to “pour oil on the flames” 3.43 2 12 38 38 10
H. present their results publicly much better 3.08 3 21 45 27 4
I. try to behave politely and decently 2.87 5 24 52 17 2
J. mange new, unexpected situations 3.15 2 16 51 28 3
K. often intervene with useless a strike force and pretension 3.06 2 22 49 25 3
L. There are often doubts about the police's credibility and incorruptibility 2.56 7 44 36 12 1

48. Assess to what extent the following statements are true.  
  1=absolutely true 5= absolutely false
A. Common people are still afraid of the police 3.21 6 21 34 25 14
B. The criminals have better technical equipment are better organised 1.76 48 34 15 4 1
C. The police are not cost-effective 2.78 8 27 45 17 2
D. The police employ a number of real experts 2.5 16 35 35 13 2
E. Mass media rather damage the police's good name 2.9 7 24 44 20 4
F. Nobody takes the police seriously 3.26 3 17 40 32 8
G. The majority of policemen show interest in good performance 2.78 6 32 44 16 2
H. The police should be maximally supported 2.37 17 40 35 7 1
I. People join the police only when they are in a pinch 2.99 7 24 38 24 7

A typical comment of the public towards the police is the “small visibility“ of the police. The police are perceived partially as an assistant, but not as a “friend”. The people acknowledge the police being competent and they think the police should be provided technical and general support. Among the worse evaluated items, we can choose the problem of a bureaucratic approach and suspicion of a corrupt environment.

The estimates relating to the fact whether the police will be successful in solving individual cases are very interesting. They also demonstrate a certain degree of trust in the police's capabilities.

53. We are interested in your opinion on how the police are successful in fighting crime. Please look at the following offences and try to estimate the probability of the offender being detected and punished. (We only want to know your rough guess in percentage from 1 to 99, i.e. from the lowest to the highest probability.)
  The estimate mean (=assumed percentage of success)
a/ Bicycle theft in the house/block of flats where you live 19
b/ Wallet theft in the street, in a shop 11
c/ Car theft 34
d/ Murder 59
e/ Rape 53
f/ Post office or bank robbery 56

The research performed in 1999 confirmed the highest degree of trust in the Czech police. We can summarise that the prestige of a policeman's job has gradually stabilised to a more steady level. As to the public's attitude towards the police there is a certain illusion relating to the importance of strict checks and exemplar punishment.

46. There is a discussion now on the position of the municipal police. Somebody would prefer building only single, strong state police, some people would rather support the development of the municipal police. Which solution do you consider to be more useful?
 
  1. absolutely the first one (one principal police managed by the state) 22  
2. less of the second one than the first one 19
3. I do not know, both solutions have some advantages 45
4. less of the first one than the second one 10
5. absolutely the second one (in towns/villages the municipal police should be built) 4
 

47. What should be especially improved in the police work?
  1 absolutely yes 2 partially yes 3 it does not solve much 4 it is not required
A. better selection of people, stricter criteria 62 33 4 1
B. better technical equipment 60 32 7 1
C. provide the police more powers 32 46 15 8
D. to increase the number of people on duty in the
streets
50 41 8 2
E. availability in the place where you live 49 40 5 6
F. control of police work 56 35 7 2
G. exercises, professional training 63 33 3 1
H. stricter sanctions if the police do not fulfil duties,
sanction against unfair conduct of some policemen
76 19 4 2
 
49. Do you think that the policeman position and the prestige of this job
  1. are permanently quite high? 7
2. are about average 67
3. are on a long-term basis very low 27
 
50. In terms of development are the prestige and police social position in your opinion,
  1. improving 6
  2. slightly improving 44
  3. staying as it is 42
  4. getting worse 9

Even though we take into account unemployment development we still see the data of the willingness of an interviewed person to join the police as a positive one. As these are the data describing the opinions of the whole population, we will have to consider age or sex factors.

51. With no regard to what extent it is possible: would you, for example in case you lost your current job, and you did not have a chance to use or extend your qualification, take a job with the police?
 
  1. yes 17
2. temporarily yes 23
3. probably not 33
4. absolutely not 27

Our previous research confirmed the influence of mass media on the formation of attitudes towards crime. In this brief information we only mention the part relating to police work. However, it is hard to evaluate the results. We can only say that the information needs of the citizens are met.

63. Do you think that the mass media inform on crime:
 
1. too much 33
2. adequately 61
3. too little 5
 
64. And now a few questions on watching television. Please try to estimate how often you watch television:
  Daily Several times a week Sometimes Rarely Never
A. TV news 40 35 20 5 1
B. Security programmes of the Czech police 1 5 37 39 19
C. The programmes aimed at citizens' protection 1 8 41 35 15

RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGY - PRIORITY OPINIONS

In terms of risk management citizens reliance on themselves, sometimes on institutions, or better technical security (of property and personal security) is becoming rather typical. From the point of view of the whole society there has been a high trend towards punishment, mainly in terms to make stricter punishment. Internal security risks are a priority. As for system risks, there is a tendency to see threats outside the republic. We can also suppose here that the support of the state is using a stricter approach.

32. What should a citizen do if he was not happy with a security situation?
Scale: 1. absolutely yes   2. partially yes   3. does not solve much   4. it is not required
a/ enforce improvement directly at the police
or a local municipality
24 38 37 1
b/ to use more private security agencies 5 34 50 12
c/ to sue more up-to-date technical means of home
protection, personal protection (apart from weapons)
50 41 9 1
d/ to rely mainly on yourselves, to buy
a weapon, etc.
19 42 31 8
e/ to establish with other citizens some
initiatives, associations, discipline service
5 30 48 18
f/ to elect a political party with a better
security conception
14 28 47 11
 
33. Using a ten point scale, which you have known, give us your opinion how to fight crimes?
Scale: 1 - Essential disagreement………10 Maximal agreement
  Average 1-3 8-10  
A. to make punishment for all crimes stricter 8.06 6 68
B. To send more policemen into the streets 7.76 5 61
C. To make the regime in our prisons stricter 8.04 6 67
D. To introduce a death penalty 6.6 23 50
 
34. The security risks in the Czech Republic are formed (first) by risks relating to the life of common citizens, i.e. protection of their property, health and life (it is more or less a common crime), (second) by risks threatening the system as a whole, i.e. international terrorism, organised crime and its penetration into the state administration, activities aimed at undermining the democratic political system, etc. Which of these risks:
Scale: 1=undoubtedly the first   2= probably the first   3= probably the second   4 = undoubtedly the second
5= Do not know   Index -4
A. do you consider to be the most important in your personal point of view 34 41 14 6 5 2.08
B. should the state devote its maximum
attention
14 32 32 13 9 2.7
C. have a tendency to rise dramatically, to increase as a threat 8 25 41 13 14 3.01
D. are to large extent committed by foreigners, immigrants, etc. 7 19 40 18 15  

CONCLUDING NOTE

This report does not exhaust all suggestions for practical solutions and options for the approach and it does not include all data from the held research. For further information see the code book which contains the complete results relating to the Czech Republic.

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