Czech capital needs police officers

PRAGUE, Czech Republic, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- The police department in the Czech Republic capital of Prague will be understaffed by some 770 officers by year's end, police officials said Tuesday.

Petr Zelasko, Prague police director, told reporters the number of officers needed was about 10 percent of the city's current law enforcement force, Prague Radio said.

Zelasko said 260 police officers are scheduled to leave Dec. 31 in an apparent search for better-paying jobs.

Rudolf Blazek, Prague's deputy mayor, said police in Prague are busier than officers in other cities and the cost of living in the capital is much higher than in other places, while there is no big difference in police pay.

Officers routinely leave Prague in search of jobs in another regions of the country where they are not that stressed, Blazek said.

At the national level, Czech police are short of some 5,000 officers, the radio said.