Police: Mistrust in Police Partly Influenced by Kuciak's Murder
Bratislava, July 10 (TASR) – The level of mistrust in the Slovak police has been influenced by emotions that flooded society following the murders of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his girlfriend Martina Kusnirova, the Police Corps Presidium has told TASR in response to the results of a recently published Eurobarometer survey, according to which the police in Slovakia are viewed as being the least credible within the European Union.
The survey, which was carried out within the 28 EU-member states and five candidate countries in March 2018, showed that more than half of the Slovak public has no trust in the police, putting Slovakia at the tail end of EU rankings. A total of 55 percent of Slovaks don’t trust the police, while only 38 percent of them expressed confidence in the institution. The EU average stood at 73-percent trust.
“In our opinion, the emotions after the murders of the journalist and his girlfriend influenced the results of the survey. Following the stifling atmosphere, major changes in posts within the Police Corps and the Interior Ministry took place, while the Police Corps’s personnel policy is still open, and further changes are expected,” stated the police communications department.
According to the police, the mood in the country has calmed down. “We’re working on boosting the credibility of the police to higher figures. At the same time it’s important to stress that despite the Eurobarometer results, Slovakia is viewed as a safe country, which can be demonstrated by increased tourism,” said the police, adding that positive statistics concerning the number of successfully investigated crimes, such as murders and property-related issues, show that the Slovak police are working correctly.
NGO Transparency International Slovakia also commented on the published results of the EU survey. The NGO stated that the action needed to build trust in the police is clear – to investigate serious scandals, including politically sensitive ones, along with selecting a trustworthy police chief in the autumn.
According to the Eurobarometer survey, the most trustworthy police are found in Denmark, as 93 percent of Danes expressed confidence in them, whereas only 5 percent of the country’s population had a negative opinion.
