In Slovakia, police officers had until midnight on Monday to submit their resignations if they wanted to benefit from a 14.5 percent increase in the service pension. According to estimates by the police union, nearly two thousand people may take off their uniforms by the end of the year, which Pavol Baračka, the union's president, considers alarming. In practical terms, this means that the entire district directorate will cease to exist in the country. Interestingly, he mentioned that 2,000 people work in the Nitra district administration.
But their number will certainly be fewer next year. The shortage of police officers will be felt most by district and district administrations as they often face reports from the public on a daily basis. According to Baračka, it may take longer for patrols to arrive at the scene in the future, but documenting crimes and violations may also take longer. The union president said there was already a significant shortage of crime tracers, and there would be even fewer from next year.
Experienced police officers who are entitled to the service pension are primarily motivated by the extraordinary increase in the service pension this year to terminate their employment. However, Slovak Interior Minister Matusz Štaj Istok is confident that in the end much fewer people will resign.
The Interior Minister tried to persuade the police officers to remain with the council with more benefits. He offered a bonus of five thousand euros to experienced police officers if their contracts were extended for at least three years. In addition, a housing allowance of 200 euros was provided against each policeman's monthly salary. Final numbers for police officer departures are not yet available. DennikN daily newspaper asked police officers in several regions, who confirmed that those colleagues who had already planned to resign before the benefits were announced, had actually resigned in the end.
Matusz Shotaj Istok said after the government meeting on Wednesday that the Interior Ministry is actively communicating with the police regarding its requests and proposals. “These are not just about financial requirements. There are things that we have already resolved and are in the process of being resolved,” the Interior Minister noted, adding that the recruitment process and conditions must be simplified in order to stabilize the police force. “We have 4,000 applications, that is the number of people who want to Join the board, but applicants often fail because of basic things like wearing glasses. We have to change such things,” declared the Slovak Interior Minister.
