PS to Initiate Emergency Committee Session Over Rising Crime in Towns

Bratislava, 20 October (TASR) – The opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party is initiating an emergency special session of the House Committee for Public Administration and Regional Development in response to rising crime in Slovak towns and municipalities and invited Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice–SD) and Justice Minister Boris Susko (Smer-SD) to attend, TASR learnt from Alec Borovy from the party press department on Monday. According to Borovy, the party wants the ministers to hear directly from mayors about the consequences of what it calls irresponsible government policy. MP and member of the regional committee Marek Lackovic (PS) said the government is directly responsible for an “unprecedented rise in crime” in towns and municipalities. „Every day we hear desperate statements from mayors who are unable to manage the situation with their own limited resources. Municipal and city police forces do not cover the entire territory of Slovakia, and they have also been hit hard by the effects of drastic fiscal consolidation, which only makes things worse,” he stated. MP and member of the House Defence and Security Committee Jaroslav Spisiak also stressed that the Interior Minister must urgently increase police staffing. „The situation in towns and villages is unsustainable. Structural changes and chaos in the police force, caused by this government, have only worsened the personnel problems. Addressing the deteriorating security situation is not only about numbers — it also requires effective management,” he said. PS plans to submit a resolution at the committee session calling on the government and ministers to urgently bolster police staffing and prepare a comprehensive amendment to the Criminal Codes. mf