Slovakian Policy on Vehicle crime
VEHICLE CRIME
Criminality of car stealing after 1989 has become the focus of attention not only of the police, criminologists and investigators, but also the entire society and almost all the citizens. The highest control authorities of the Slovak Republic also focus their attention into this area. Stealing of cars, eventually things from cars, as well as various types of insurance frauds mean damages in millions of crowns not only for the owners or proprietors of cars, but for the whole society as well. Stolen cars are often used in other, often serious criminality, such as robberies, murders, armed robberies in banks, post offices, etc. As it concerns a manifold criminality in connection with cars, a generally acknowledged term “automobile criminality” arose.
Bearing in mind the above mentioned facts it was necessary to mobilize powers and resources from the side of the Police Force which would lead to elimination of this negative societal phenomenon.
Because of these reasons the project “Fight against criminality of car stealing in the territory of the Slovak Republic” has been elaborated in 2005, at the Presidium of Police Corps at the Ministry of Interior SR. In the frame of the project 52 measures were adopted out of it 21 immediate of strategic character to provide fulfilling of tasks of the police corps and to improve the safety of citizens as well as 8 measures of medium–term oriented to detection and investigation of vehicle crime. For this purpose a co-ordinate group of 14 policemen was established, which has been finished in 2009. Another 23 long-term measures prepare the police for the more effective fight against the vehicle crime. Within the internal division of the Police Force it concerns individual units and services. Participation from the side of some of the departments and organizations within the ministry of interior, but also the subjects from the outside are taken as granted. At the same time the project also promotes the increase of the credit of the Police Force within the public and the reduction of the entire criminality to its most possible and by society acceptable level.
Slovak Republic signed the Agreement on the European information system of motor vehicles and driver licenses (EUCARIS), which speeds up information exchange at the import of cars and it will not be possible to register vehicles with the same VIN in different states.
Control of origin of imported vehicles is provided since 2008.The control consists from the physical control of each imported vehicle and of the documents. On the basis of certificate of originality obtained after control it is possible to make the evidence of the vehicle. It is planned to extend the control also at the exchange of the substantial part of the vehicle body. Each citizen may verify on the web site www.ko.sk, if the vehicle on sale had undergone the control of originality. The further measure implemented was the possibility of checking the list of stolen vehicles on internet web site www.minv.sk/?odcudzene-mot-vozidla.
There is a permanent cooperation with the public where media (television, radio) participate in the search for cars.
In the preparation are also measures which make more difficult to legalize stolen vehicles, such as e.g. he monitoring of evidence number by the video technique system, with the aim to detect insurance fraud as well as to facilitate detection of stolen vehicle.
Co-operation provides Presidium of the police force criminal department Bratislava, Slovak republic.
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National Organisations