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Prague police: Who's protected and served?


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May 2nd, 2007 issue

If you’re looking for an indicator of the social health of a society, look no further than its police — and the reputation they have with citizens at large.

If, as in the Czech Republic, racist skinheads can hold rallies and marches that enjoy the winking support of police, who barely trouble to erect barricades during such events, you’ve got a problem. Especially when these same police are known for beating up demonstrators from other rallies. To take just one recent example, consider Kateřina Jacques, who was knocked down, beaten and kicked by cops last year for peacefully protesting a gathering of neo-Nazis May 1.
Far-right hatemongers are well aware they will not be well monitored, contained or under such threat when they gather to chant their moronic slogans. Even these Neanderthals are able to read the signs when police repeatedly show off their double standards.
Part of the problem is that police salaries are low, work conditions are tough, and — in a vicious circle of shame — the reputation of the police is such that they only attract those who are desperate for work and can’t find it elsewhere in this flush economy. That often means new police hires have no college-level education, limited language skills, even more limited coping skills and limited abilities to manage tense situations.
In other words, becoming a cop means joining a group that enjoys little respect, and, for that reason, it continues to attract those with the least ability, perpetuating its problems.
And it’s not only minorities and those who choose to exercise their democratic right to protest who are disserved.
Take the gunplay that we witnessed last week on Jindřišská street, just off Wenceslas Square: A police officer took to firing his gun on a normally busy downtown avenue to stop a suspected shoplifter who was making off with an armful of clothes. A ricochet hit an innocent passerby. The justification? The suspect would not stop when asked to.
Others who experience out-of-control policing (but who at least are more likely to get home alive) are the legions of foreigners who are separated from their wallets, cameras and other valuables every tourist season in Prague, often on public transport.
These people, if they happen to be Americans or West Europeans, naively expect police to be concerned with their problems — or to at least feign an interest when they make their reports. But Czech police are nothing if not sincere. They generally look bored when a foreigner approaches them with a problem, and don’t hide it (very likely they are since relatively few speak English).
What it all adds up to is clear lack of leadership among at Prague’s Police Presidium, the central administrative authority for the city’s lawmen and -women. When top cop Vladislav Husák is repeatedly caught on video speeding to work and then implicated in a political wiretapping scandal, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that rank-and-file officers are inconsistent at best in dealing with public safety and crowd control, among other issues.
Enough is enough. The Velvet Revolution happened more than 17 years ago, and the police are no longer supposed to be the dogs that the regime calls out to suppress troublesome citizens who want civil rights. Until the state makes it a priority to make cops public servants, as they should be, Prague remains unsafe for most — and safe to all the wrong people.


Other articles in Opinion (2/05/2007):

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