Czech crime levels declining since their peak in 1999

The transition from communism in 1989 saw crime rates quadruple and peak in 1999 when over 426,000 criminal acts were registered. Since then, crime has been steadily declining, following a global trend, the head of the Institute for Criminology and Social Prevention, Miroslav Scheinost said. Last year, the police recorded 325,000 crimes. Repeated offenders have however become a serious issue in the Czech Republic; while in 2000, some 30 percent of criminal acts was committed by repeated offenders, the figure rose to over 52 percent last year, Mr Scheinost said.

Author: Jan Richter