Preventing Crime & Creating Safer Communities
Home | Distance learning | Information & news | Discussions | Join the network | Contact | Useful links

Crime Prevention Information & News

Creating Safer Communities in Europe: a crime prevention sourcebook

CZECH REPUBLIC

Present State of Crime Prevention

There has been an acute increase in crime in the Czech Republic in recent years (the registered crime rate trebled in 1993 in comparison with the year 1989). The former Czechoslovakia participated in the 1992 International Crime Survey. This revealed that, at the time, Czechoslovakia had burglary and personal theft rates higher than any Western European country. (Burglaries three times higher than Sweden, for example, and twice as many thefts as France.)

The Czech Government realises that it is not possible to tackle the crime problem only with repressive strategies and that it is necessary to build up a functioning system of crime prevention step by step. Hence the Ministry of the Interior worked out a strategy proposal for a Programme of Crime Prevention, which was endorsed by the Government in 1993. The goal of this strategy is the systematic removal of criminogenic factors and the creation of positive conditions for non-criminal conduct.

The authors of the crime prevention strategy are aware of the fact that its success depends not only on the activity of the government and the police, but also on the quality of co-operation with the public.

Organisational Structure

Crime prevention needs an implementation structure to include national, regional and local levels. It means that there has to be mutual co-operation between state, public and local self-government institutions as well as co-operation between civil governments, churches, mass media, etc.

The Republic Committee for Crime Prevention was set up at national level with the Minister of the Interior as its head and representatives of the Ministries of the Interior, Labour and Social Affairs, Education, Youth and Physical Training, Defence and Justice (along with a representative of the Institute of Criminology and Social Prevention) as permanent members.

The main tasks of the Republic Committee have been defined as follows:

• Monitoring the state, structure and dynamics of the crime rate in the Czech Republic, taking into account the fact that criminality is taking new forms, qualities and connections; evaluating efficiency of strategies and methods;
• Defining and initiating basic concepts and legislative proposals in the fields of family policy, school education, employment, health system, justice, professional education, habitation, etc., with regard to crime prevention;
• Intensifying international co-operation in the field of safety and preventative policy;
• Co-ordinating the activities of the relevant departments, authorities, churches, civil initiatives, mass media etc. and creating an atmosphere of mutual co-operation as a basic principle for all authorities concerned with preventive operations;
• Initiating preventive activities on regional and local levels and supporting the inception of setting up regional and local boards anywhere the crime rate makes it necessary.

At regional and local levels it is intended to establish regional and local boards for crime prevention when and where such a demand should arise. Presently the regional boards are being established and the experimental running of a local board in the city of Bran is being carried out by the Institute of Criminology and Social Prevention.

Emphasis is also laid on tertiary prevention (i.e. prevention of recidivism). This is achieved through social work with prisoners as well as work with ex-convicts after their release from prison.

Social Preventative Work with Young People

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs worked out a Proposal for a Programme of Social Prevention that was endorsed by the Government in 1993. The main targets of this programme are in the field of non-criminal social-pathological phenomena that are, however, connected to the crime rate (i.e., alcoholism, drug dependency, prostitution, racism, etc.). The core of this Programme of Social Prevention is focused on social work with young people "at risk" e.g.: street children, groups intent on vandalism, drug-users etc.

In this connection the establishment of a new type of social worker is proposed - a social assistant directly accountable to the mayor of town and who would be solely involved in preventive work with children and young people. Presently this model is being piloted in several locations.

Contact:

Ms Gjuricova, Reditelka odd Prevence (Department of Crime Prevention), Ministerstvo Vnitra Cr, Nad Stolou 3, 170 00, Praha 7, Czech Republic. Tel 00 42 2 3351 2146.

Doc. Judr. Josef ZAPLETAL, Police Academy, Prague, Czech Republic.