Organized crime is not only found in movies or abroad. It occurs in our country as well. We find it in various forms, but especially in the areas of drugs, tax fraud and prostitution. The fact that it is a really big problem is also highlighted by the special institutions that are working to combat it. In this article, we will take a closer look at these institutions and present the forms of organised crime in our country.
Organised crime has no single definition. The Police of the Czech Republic define it as a type of group crime committed by an organised criminal group or criminal organisation. These groups and organisations usually have a multi-tiered vertical organisational structure and are characterised by the systematiccommission of coordinated serious crime.
The Criminal Code then defines an organised criminal group. It is a community of at least three criminally responsible persons with an internal organisational structure, a division of functions and a division of activities, aimed at the systematic commission of intentional crime.
Tip: Read also our more detailed article on organised crime, its history, types and structure.
Organised crime is characterised by collective involvement, where individuals organise themselves into groups with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. These groups operate according to a fixed hierarchy that determines the structure from the leaders down to the junior members. The main objective of these organisations is to achieve economic or political benefits. The groups often specialise in various illegal activities such as drug trafficking, arms trafficking or money laundering.
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Persistence and systematicity is another characteristic of organised crime, with groups carrying out their activities according to long-term strategies. They often use corruption and infiltration of state institutions to protect their operations. Organised crime also has an international dimension, crossing national borders and engaging in global criminal activities. To achieve their goals, these groups use violence, intimidation and blackmail to control their competitors and silence witnesses.
Organised crime is regulated mainly in the Criminal Code. It defines the concept of a perpetrator of a crime committed for the benefit of an organised criminal group. It is a person who has committed a deliberate criminal act as a member of an organised criminal group or who has committed such an act knowingly with a member of an organised criminal group or with the intention of assisting an organised criminal group.
These offenders are subject to more severe penalties. In particular, the upper limit of the penalty of imprisonment is increased by one third and a sentence in the upper half of the penalty is imposed, except for exceptional reductions (e.g. in the case of an informer).
Tip: Learn what a crime is and how we divide crimes.
Organised crime boomed in the Czech Republic, especially in the wild 1990s. The borders were opened and the Czech Republic became a transit country for the transport of weapons, drugs and people. However, organised crime was also present in the Czech Republic during the socialist era, in the form of foreign currency exchange or the distribution of scarce goods and goods imported illegally from the West.
A classic example from the Czech Republic is the Berdych gang, which operated between 1995 and 2004. The Berdych gang was a large criminal organisation that focused on robbery, kidnapping, extortion and even murder.
What made this case special was the fact that the gang was working with members of the Czech Police, specifically high-ranking detectives who were supposed to be fighting organized crime. They covered up the crime and received a large share of the profits.
We have also encountered a case of organised crime in our practice. It was a criminal group involved in the cultivation and distribution of marijuana. The police were uncompromising in this case and a gardener who only watered cannabis plants was convicted as a member of the organised group.
Currently, according to the Police of the Czech Republic, the most common organized crime is focused on:
It is important to mention that a large number of organised criminal groups operating in our territory were not and are not of Czech origin. Most of them are foreigners or transnational groups. For example, Russian, Ukrainian and Vietnamese gangs operate here.
Tip: What are illegal and legal drugs and how are they regulated by Czech legislation? Find out in the next article.
The Ministry of the Interior is at the forefront of the fight against organised crime, coordinating national policy on organised crime and working with other countries and international organisations. These include, for example, the European Union and the OECD. It also regularly publishes concepts for the fight against organised crime. This is a strategic document analysing the current situation and proposing measures to improve the effectiveness of the fight against organised crime.
At the operational level, the Police of the Czech Republic and special services such as the National Headquarters against Organised Crime work mainly on this issue. Like the Ministry of the Interior, the Police cooperate with international organisations such as Europol and Interpol. Let’s take a closer look at the main special units of the Police of the Czech Republic that deal with organised crime and other auxiliary organisations:
The National Headquarters against Organised Crime of the Criminal Police and Investigation Service(NCOZ SKPV) is the executive department of the criminal police. It was established in 2016 by merging two units with national competence – the Organised Crime Detection Unit of the SKPV and the Corruption and Financial Crime Detection Unit of the SKPV. It works in three sections:
The National Drug Control Centre is responsible for investigating criminal activities related to the production, distribution and trafficking of drugs and poisons. The main focus is on organised crime, which is a major problem in this area. It also focuses on education and prevention.
Organised crime is group crime committed by organised groups with a hierarchical structure that systematically engage in serious crimes, often with economic or political objectives. In the Czech Republic it started to develop intensively in the 1990s after the opening of the borders.
The legal framework of organised crime is regulated in the Criminal Code, which provides for harsher penalties for members of these groups. The fight against organised crime is coordinated by the Ministry of the Interior , and specialised units of the Police of the Czech Republic, such as the National Centre against Organised Crime (NCOZ), intervene at the operational level.
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