Participating in the presentation were the Project Coordinator Staš Svetek from the Directorate for Police and other security functions (MNZ) and Tatjana Mušič from the Criminal Police (GPU). Minister Kresal said that domestic violence is a pressing social problem perceived by everyone, but often silent, which is why the Ministry made it a high policy priority. Hence during 2009 the Ministry along with non-governmental organisations (NGOs) conducted a broad information and prevention campaign. The goal was on the one hand to encourage victims to seek help more quickly and to make offenders face liability for their actions and, on the other hand, to invite people detecting a case in their neighbourhood or having suspicions to take an active part against domestic violence.
In 2010 the Ministry of Internal Affairs together with the Police and experts in the field enhanced the ongoing campaign with the launch of the service of anonymous electronic reporting of domestic violence, which is accessible via three websites - those of the Ministry of the Interior and the Police and the State Portal of the Republic of Slovenia, the national eGovernment portal. The purpose of anonymous reporting is to encourage people to notify crime, petty crime or other forms of security threats derived from domestic violence in an aim to ensure timely victim protection. Online reporting is fast, simple and accessible to a broad range of people.
Compared with anonymous phone calls this eService enables the Police to receive more thorough and precise descriptions of the situation, this without any time limit, as well as electronic attachments up to a size of 10 Mb - images or other material - in support of the declaration.
Project Coordinator Staš Svetek said that with this project, the Ministry and the Police are taking forward the police modernisation process, which forms an integral part of the move towards organising the service around people's needs. When logging in to the service users only need basic computer skills; digital certificates are not required. Mr. Svetek explained that the anonymity of the applicants is completely ensured through the technical implementation of the service; the application server of the Ministry of Public Administration does not transmit any of the applicants' data to the Police. "The only way the police can get information on the applicants is if the latter send their data." he concluded.
Ms. Tatjana Mušič, from the Criminal Police said that "many violent acts are not known by the official institutions, because of fear." It is therefore expected that this service will offer a means to reduce the number of unknown cases. Likewise, it should allow the police officers to obtain the most complete information - time and place of the incident included - to take appropriate action.
"A lot of effort has been invested in training police officers to be able to identify violent situations and to act both effectively and professionally." Minister Kresal said. Statistics show that the number of reported domestic crimes significantly increased in 2009; in 2008 the Police dealt with 4 956 such crimes whereas it handled 8 151 of them in 2009, that is, 40 % more cases of family violence. Among the major reasons the victims' and the witnesses' greater awareness; this has been positively affected by new legislation on the prevention of domestic violence, which establishes an obligation for authorities and organisations to report cases of family violence and regulates training and interoperability aspects.
Further information:
- Official press release - Ministry of the Interior (in Slovenian)
- State Portal of the Republic of Slovenia
---
Quelle/Source: epractice, 22.07.2010
Bitte besuchen Sie/Please visit:
