Management of regional police directorates: errors in accounting as well as when purchasing vehicles
PRESS RELEASE on Audit No. 14/35 – January 11, 2016
The Supreme Audit Office (SAO) scrutinized management of five selected regional directorates of the Police of the Czech Republic within the period 2012–2014. The audited bodies were regional police directorates in Prague, Ostrava, České Budějovice, Ústí nad Labem, and in Hradec Králové. Auditors focused on the owned property, buildings, and vehicles as well as housing costs of police dogs and horses. The accuracy and completeness of inventory records were also examined. The scrutinized property amounted to CZK 1,700 million and audited funds amounted to CZK 227 million.
Most errors found at the audited bodies were related to accounting. Regional police directorates also made errors with public orders as well as with property purchases.
For example, regional directorates in Prague and Ostrava made errors with purchases of new passenger cars. Act on Public Contracts was particularly violated by the regional directorate in Prague with two public orders concerning five passenger cars worth CZK 2.7 million in total. Only one supplier was addressed and specific cars were ordered. After obtaining these cars, the regional directorate did not use them and later declared them unneeded and transferred them to another organisational unit of the State. Thus, the directorate purchased property, which was not used when the directorate’s responsibilities were exercised, which was in contradiction with budgetary regulations. Moravian-Silesian Regional Police Directorate purchased 12 special minibuses for CZK 13.8 million, and later – at the superior police department’s request – declared nine of the minibuses unneeded and transferred the minibuses to other regional police directorates, which was in contradiction with law.
Similar errors were revealed with purchases of mobile phones: When the regional police directorate in Ostrava ordered 107 mobile phones for more than CZK 600,000, technical parameters and other details were described too specifically, including preferable trademarks and type designations, which violated the Public Contracts Act. The regional directorate in Ústí nad Labem took a similar approach when procured 183 mobile phones with estimated total price amounting to CZK 1.3 million.
Communication Department
Supreme Audit Office