Government agrees to bolster police force, notes rise in cybercrime

The government has approved the hiring of 1,000 new police officers to bolster the current force of 40,000.

The aim, according to Interior Minister Jan Hamáček (Social Democrat), is to ensure that the Czech Republic remains among the most secure countries in the world.

About 150 of the new positions will be assigned to specialised police units tasked with fighting cybercrime, terrorism and extremism, or financial crime.

The overall crime rate has dropped about 7 percent last year in annual terms, but instances of cybercrime and online fraud rose by some 6 percent.