Government asks interior minister to upgrade crisis response strategy

The Czech cabinet has asked Interior Minister Vít Rakušan to present a comprehensive crisis response strategy for the future, complete with financial requirements for implementing the said measures. Moreover, the Interior Ministry is to give the National Security Council a detailed assessment of the crisis response of the police force to the tragic shooting at Prague’s Faculty of Arts on December 21, which saw 14 people killed and 25 injured, bz the end of the month . At a press briefing in Prague on Friday Minister Rakušan said he considered security measures to be of key importance. He said that while no state could guarantee preventing such attacks, it was essential to take all possible measures to minimize the risks and impacts of such incidents.

An internal check into the police response to the shooting at the Prague Faculty of Arts, the results of which were made public this week, concluded that the police intervention was “fast, professional and fully in line with internal regulations”. However experts said crisis communication could have been better, pointing out that the faculty and university management was not informed immediately about the danger.

Responding to criticism from one Czech MP, whose daughter was seriously hurt in the shooting, Rakušan said he could not rule out isolated lapses by individuals.