Interior minister opposes for new police unit to answer to police chief

Prague, May 27 (CTK) - Czech Interior Minister Jan Kubice is opposed to a possible founding of a central police unit dealing with corruption cases that would be directly accountable to Police President Petr Lessy, as he considers such step non-systemic, he said in a debate on Czech Television yesterday.

Lessy said in January that the new unit should be established as a counterpart to the special group of state attorneys, also focusing on corruption cases, that is to be created at the Supreme State Attorney's Office (NSZ).

Lessy yesterday said that a [police] commission is looking into the possibility of creating the new police unit.

"It requires further discussion. At the moment, I'm waiting for the conclusions to be drawn by the commission headed by deputy [police head Martin] Cervicek, which is assessing the effectiveness, or pros and cons of similar units operating on the national level," Lessy said.

He expects the analysis to be completed in a month, he said.

Kubice (unaffiliated) said he would mainly mind the new unit not being subordinate to the deputy police president in charge of criminal proceedings but directly to Police President Lessy.

"I can't imagine how the unit would exchange information with other [police] units," Kubice said.

In his opinion, the new unit would have to operate within some of the existing national units accountable to Cervicek, deputy police head.

In January, Lessy proposed to establish the new anti-corruption unit in reaction to the planned amendment to the law on the state attorney's office. The unit would be a partner of the special [anti-corruption] team of state attorneys. It would comprise about 100 officers. It would have three sections - for uncovering and investigation of corruption and for operative means.

It would have state-of-the-art equipment at its disposal, Lessy said.

The unit's establishment would not mean an end to anti-corruption police. They would continue operating, probably under a different name, and focusing on serious economic crime such as tax crime and money laundering, Lessy said previously.

Observers point to frequent opinion differences and a certain tension between Kubice and Lessy, who was installed in the post under Kubice's ministerial predecessor Radek John, head of the now opposition party Public Affairs (VV).