Czech to invest €142m for security enhancement over 3 years

The Czech Republic plans to spend over 3.6 billion Czech crowns (142 million euros) in the next three years to boost social security following last year's Charles University shooting, reported Xinhua.

According to a government document revealed by local media on Saturday, the government has outlined 21 security measures. These include enhancing police and firefighters' equipment, increasing virtual reality training, and promoting apps to alert the public to emergencies.

The Czech News Agency (CTK) reported that a significant portion of the funding will be dedicated to improving police capabilities over the next three years. This includes spending six million crowns to purchase weapons such as sniper rifles, and 60 million crowns on ballistic protection sets such as bulletproof vests and helmets.

The most expensive item on the list is the modernization of the vehicle fleet of first-line patrols and emergency units, costing 900 million crowns, according to the CTK.

In addition to better equipping, protecting, and training the security forces, the government aims to develop systems for notifying the public during emergencies and crises, such as using an application to send timely alerts.

Last December, a 24-year-old student shot and killed 14 people at the Faculty of Arts of the Charles University in Prague before committing suicide. The tragic incident also left 25 others injured. Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan called the shooting "a terrible act, unprecedented in the history of the Czech Republic."