SaS: Ministers Mocking Public with Statements on Rising Number of Thefts

Bratislava, 12 September (TASR) – The opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party rejects claims by government ministers that the recent increase in the number of thefts is unrelated to the coalition-approved amendment to the Criminal Code, with SaS MP Maria Kolikova welcoming the coalition's acknowledgment of rising crime, but pointing out that Prosecutor-General Maros Zilinka also highlighted the impact of the Criminal Code amendment in his annual report for last year. SaS considers statements made by Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice–SD) and Justice Minister Boris Susko (Smer-SD) regarding retail theft to be an insult to the public and an admission of failure. "This was a complete blunder by this government, which decided that theft should only become a criminal offence from 700 euros upwards," said Kolikova at a press conference on Friday. She added that even the prosecutor-general's report acknowledges that although the number of theft-related criminal offences has technically decreased, this is due to a fundamental change in how the value of damage is calculated under the Criminal Code. "This is clearly stated in the prosecutor-general's report. So, none of the coalition's excuses hold up. The opposition is not to blame for the surge in thefts," stressed Kolikova. MP Juraj Krupa (SaS) added that the increase in repeated thefts is also due to understaffed police forces. "The police can't cope with these offences because there are so many of them that they would essentially have to spend all their time dealing only with petty offences — running to shops, issuing fines, handing out penalty slips," he said. Instead of admitting a mistake and amending the Criminal Code, the government prefers to lie and blame the opposition, said Krupa. On Thursday (11 September), Sutaj Estok and Susko stated that the rise in crime and aggression in retail stores is not linked to the Criminal Code amendment, but rather to a broader increase in societal aggression. According to the interior minister, the value of stolen goods is not the issue, as many of the minor thefts being addressed would not have constituted a criminal offence even prior to the amendment. He sees the real problem in growing aggression and especially in repeat offences. mf/df