NCJ Number
144742
Journal
Police Studies Volume: 16 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1993) Pages: 39-42
Date Published
1993
Length
4 pages
Annotation
Since the "Velvet Revolution" of 1989 when Czechoslovakia experienced the fall of communism, social and economic instability has contributed to rapidly rising crime rates, and police and the criminal justice system are struggling to cope with the problem.
Abstract
Information gathered during a 2-month visit to Czechoslovakia showed that criminals have begun to capitalize on more open borders and weaker security controls. The fear of crime has become even greater than the actual incidence of crime. The liberalization process involved in rejoining the Western European mainstream, combined with the rapid transformation of society, has compounded major weaknesses and gaps in Czechoslovakia's legal system. According to the country's deputy police director, some jurisdictions have courts and prosecutor offices that are 85 percent understaffed. Police officials also indicate that crime rates have roughly tripled since 1989. Between 1990 and 1991, overall crime rates rose by 30.5 percent, from 216,852 to 282,998 offenses. Property crimes increased by 38.3 percent between 1990 and 1991, from 166,638 to 231,372. The number of homicides dropped from 212 in 1990 to 194 in 1991. Czechoslovakia's criminal justice system has been weakened by manpower losses among judges, prosecutors, and police. Nonetheless, efforts to establish better relationships between police and citizens appear to have succeeded since 1989. Organized crime represents one of the major problems facing law enforcement, while drug abuse has yet to reach the epidemic proportions it has in other western countries. 11 references