SaS: Situation in Police Corps Deteriorating, Minister Should Resign as Promised

Bratislava, 12 February (TASR) - The situation in the Police Corps continues to deteriorate, and Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok (Voice-SD) is only concerned with himself and isn't coming up with any solutions, representatives of the opposition Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party told a press conference on Thursday, with ex-police president Stefan Hamran, who cooperates with SaS, pointing out that Sutaj Estok promised to "put his head on the chopping block" if he failed to increase police salaries. Former interior minister Roman Mikulec ('Slovakia'-'For the People' caucus) also drew attention to the poor situation in the corps, stating that some district directors are no longer able to put patrols together. "After all these defeats, after the debacle that he's been experiencing in recent months, Minister Sutaj Estok should immediately leave the Interior Ministry. He should have gone to the president's office to submit his resignation by now, thereby ensuring public safety and that the Interior Ministry will function. This is the only right thing to do," said SaS chairman Branislav Groehling. The party pointed out that real salaries for police officers have fallen since January due to an increase in social security levies, and it warned that police officers are leaving the corps. Mikulec said that, in his opinion, the worst situation can currently be found in Nitra region. However, the authorities aren't addressing the problem. "The minister doesn't care about the police. The situation for the public is constantly worsening, and crime is on the rise," he said, adding that Police Corps President Jana Maskarova isn't addressing the problems faced by police officers and is merely defending the government's failure to combat corruption. The Police Corps has been experiencing a decline in officers for years. According to the interior minister, the situation improved in 2025, and for the first time in a long time, more new police officers joined the corps than left it. Sutaj Estok attributes this to stabilisation measures. The police trade union in Slovakia, along with other trade unions representing other security and rescue services, drew attention on Wednesday (11 February) to a reduction in the real salaries of members of the Police Corps, Fire and Rescue Corps and Prison and Judicial Guard Corps due to the increased tax burden in effect since the beginning of this year. According to police union chairman Peter Jakubik, the net salaries of police officers and firefighters fell by tens to hundreds of euros in January. am/df