Czech Interior Minister ready to strengthen police presence at Janov if necessary

Czech Interior Minister Radek John met on Friday, 28 January with representatives of the Litvínov town hall and police. The Janov housing estate in Litvínov is one of the socially excluded localities that the Czech Government Agency for Inclusion in Roma Localities is trying to assist. Janov was added to the list after the situation there became exceptionally acute in 2008, when right-wing extremists repeatedly visited Janov, known for its Roma population, and attempted a pogrom there. The Roma residents confronted the extremists and there was a risk of open conflict. The deployment of police forces against the extremists’ repeated visits to Janov cost the taxpayers tens of millions of crowns. Since then, the town hall and police have been trying to keep the situation under control, even though their controversial meetings with representatives of the extremist forces in the past seemed to indicate otherwise.

John’s Friday meeting in Litvínov resulted in a pledge that if the security situation at the Janov housing estate deteriorates in the future, the police will strengthen their presence there. John (Public Affairs) made the promise to town representatives during the meeting at the town hall. Speaking to journalists afterward, John said police would respond to the occurrence of problems anywhere by realigning their forces.

The Janov housing estate is considered an excluded locality. As many as 6 000 people live there. Socially deprived persons from various parts of the country have been moved to the estate, including many unemployed people, Roma in particular, who allegedly are not interested in education and have problems with debt. Roughly three years ago, many residents there began to complain about the co-existence of these newcomers with the longer-term residents. Janov then became a target for right-wing extremists, whose march there in November 2008 ended in a large-scale street battle with the police.

John says the situation at Janov has greatly improved. Currently there is said to be only one apartment building on the estate where the residents are problematic. Mayor Milan Štovíček (Public Affairs) said thorough controls during which the town hall and other interested parties had inspected all of the apartments and implemented a zero-tolerance policy had helped improve the situation. In the past, police added 10 jobs to the local station.

This year, due to budget cuts, Litvínov let go nine municipal police patrol members and currently has a total of 27. Štovíček says some people, including town councilors, were concerned the reduction might negatively impact security in the town, which has one of the country’s largest per capita municipal police forces for a town of its size (30 000 residents). The mayor believes any eventual rise in crime will have to be handled by the state police, for whom foot patrols are no substitute.