Police force lacking 3,000 officers

The number of police officers leaving the force is outweighing the number of newcomers, Interior Minister Ivan Langer said in a TV discussion programme on Sunday. There are currently 46,000 police officers in the Czech Republic and some 3,000 positions that need to be filled. Despite various campaigns, it has been difficult to attract people to join the force. Under a new service law which came into effect in January, officers are not paid for the first 150 hours of overtime that they work and salaries for most positions have also decreased compared to last year.