Countering household crime among top police work priorities
published on 11/2/09 4:32 PM
Photo: BGNES
The number of crimes in Bulgaria has risen manifold following the transition towards a market economy and the redistribution of property after 1989. For 20 years now crime and corruption have remained the burning issues of Bulgarian society. Personal crime and theft have increased at an alarming pace. New types of crime emerged on the scene, such as racketeering, abduction, contract murder and drug-related offence. Organized crime became a destabilizing factor for the economic and financial structures of the society. At the same time the reforms in the police aiming to open the institution to society members ran slowly and insecurely. This seemed to have given impetus to offenders. The Bulgarians like to joke that there wasn’t a single Bulgarian family left whose home or car did not become the target of thieves. The society expects protection from the police, but in most cases they only act as registrars of offences. There are cases when police officers assist criminals in their wrongdoing. That is why the Bulgarian police force does not enjoy huge social trust. Meanwhile a survey carried out by the Centre for the Study of Democracy revealed a decrease in the number of registered crimes in the country. Thus, in 2008 their number was 8 times lower than the respective figure for Sweden, for instance. Nevertheless the general attitude is that a great number of crimes remain unregistered. According to experts only one in five crimes in Bulgaria is being registered.
“We cannot delay any longer the changes in the police force,” the recently appointed Interior Minister Tzvetan Tzvetanov pointed out. “The police has to come down to people – in their residential quarters and in the schools. The district inspectors have to get better acquainted with the territory they are responsible for and the people who live there in order to be efficient in countering crimes against property and the person, and act as a barrier to the attempts of the criminals to exert influence on children and youngsters.”
The issue of personal safety is among the priorities in the work of the Interior Ministry,” deputy Interior Minister Vesselin Vuchkov argued. “Countering household crime, where currently the available resources of the department have been concentrated, is one of the principal directions in our work. The Interior Ministry increased police presence at vulnerable sites, including those with the highest crime density. And this corresponds with the expectations of the Bulgarian society for better service and security provided by the police. Restoring people’s trust in the Bulgarian police and the overall system for maintaining public order and security is a priority achieved through dialogue among all interested parties and institutions. The tangible increase in the number of crimes solved and the transparency in the work of the police are the key factors for the stabilization of the trust and the increased share of crimes reported by citizens.”
Bulgaria ranks first in expenditure as percentage of GDP on public order and security, experts claim. Nevertheless, some of the Bulgarians still fear for themselves, their families and their property. According to deputy Interior Minister Vessselin Vuchkov, the reforms in the police aim to find a way out of the situation of chaotic changes. But the required change in the attitude of the police officers towards their duties should not be related only to salary augmentation, work conditions and equipment improvement, but should first and foremost act on their motivation. It is a well-known secret recognized by the police trade union that a great number of police officers leave the police for the underworld of crime. Against the background of global financial and economic stagnation the role of the police increases as criminals become more active.
“The on-going crisis and the lack of economic stability will lead to a certain increase in the number of some criminal acts,” Vesselin Vuchkov maintains. “I mean theft, fraud, economic, financial and tax crimes, crimes against the insurance system, document crimes, etc. In the last year we have witnessed a rise in the number of people who use and distribute synthetic drugs. The drop in the population income with the crisis boosts crimes related to drug delivery and helps expand the organized drug dealer groups.”
One of the priorities of the current government is the drafting of a National strategy for public order and security. The objective is to stabilize the security sector and make its society oriented work efficient.
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