The Ministry of Interior of the Czech Republic

Security and prevention

Crime and Information Technology

The use and misuse of information technology by perpetrators of many different types of criminality have risen considerably in recant years. Ever growing quantity of unwanted material is spread via the internet - software programmes, movies, music but also extremist or pornographic stuff. New forms of internet-based criminality have been reported - abuse of internet banking systems or presentations of vandalism when the perpetrators record their acts and subsequently display them in the restricted internet sections. The misuse of payment cards and their forgery have been steadily growing. It is a strategic goal of the Ministry of Interior in the fight against such types of crime to reduce the number of crimes committed, and increase the number of solved cases at the same time. The main reference for doing so is the Policy for fight against information criminality that was elaborated on the basis of the Czech Government Resolution No. 1044 of 23 October 2000, on Updated Policy for the Fight against Organized Crime. Minister of the Interior was tasked to “conceptually solve, on a continuous basis, the combat against organized criminal activities in the field of information technology”. The document produced was designed in a broader sense, since the information crime is not perpetrated exclusively in the context of organized criminality.

The Security Policy Department of the Ministry of Interior co-ordinates and evaluates the fulfilment of tasks contained in the implementation plan of the aforementioned Policy. Through the Report on situation in the area of internal security and public order the Department provides the Czech Government with regular information in this field.