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| THE SHOCK OF CRIME 16/02/1009 |
| (2009-02-16) |
| Last updated: 2009-02-17 18:49 EET |
''Romania, a haven for criminals,'' the daily paper Romania Libera headlines sarcastically, adding quote ''the authorities seem overwhelmed by the wave of criminal offences across Romania''. unquote. A series of armed robberies have rocked Romania since the start of the year, shocking public opinion.
TV news shows have opened with a case of double murder at an exchange office in Brasov, in central Romania, an armed robbery, fortunately without victims this time, at a bank subsidiary in Cluj and the disappearance of over 50 fire guns from an army depot close to Bucharest. The offenders in the first two cases have not been caught yet. Moreover, the police itself is in the middle of a huge scandal.
Commanders of the Traffic Police in Pitesti, southern Romania, have been arrested for having illegally issued 3,500 driving licenses, which authorities are now trying to annul. Also, the Traffic Police has been involved in another scandal, this time in Iasi, in north- eastern Romania, with half of the agents being investigated for corruption. Their commander has resigned.
All this time, highly preoccupied with political scheming within the party, the leftist Social Democratic Party PSD, sharing power with the pro-presidential Liberal Democratic Party PD-L, has already changed three interior ministers in less than two months. The recently appointed interior minister Dan Nica, on Sunday promised a set of drastic measures aimed at securing banks and financial institutions and ensuring citizens' safety. Some 30% of the interior ministry's staff will be redirected towards operative work.
Interior Minister Dan Nica:
''I have started the procedure of supplementing the Traffic Police with another 2,000 agents. Alongside the 6,000 gendarmes out in the streets every day, there will be some 2,000 police officers.''
In turn, Liberal Democrat Emil Boc has announced that a joint team of experts working with the relevant ministries will issue a strategy designed to maintain public order:
“The working team, made up of and co-ordinated by the PM and deputy PM will meet with representatives of the Administration and Interior Ministry, the Defence Ministry, owners of guard and protection businesses as well as with Police structures, to take the best possible measures.''
Though the PM sees the recent robberies in Cluj and Brasov as isolated incidents, Police reports seem to contradict him. Less debated by the media but equally serious, robberies have also been committed this year at exchange offices in Galati, Constanta and Medgidia, in south eastern Romania. Though the media has associated these cases with the general economic crisis, Minister Nica denies any connection between crime and the financial crisis affecting the population.
Psychiatrist Florin Tudose, expert in the offender's psychology, agrees to the PM: quote ''No one robs a bank out of hunger or for not having money to feed their children'' Tudose says. On the other hand, he sees the return of Romanian criminals from abroad, as a possible reason for the wave of crimes.
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