Slovakia's Prosecutor General Warns of Ineffective Penalties for Repeat Theft

Slovakia's Prosecutor General Maroš Žilinka has warned that current penalties for repeat theft offenses are proving ineffective in deterring crime. More than half of theft charges filed in January and February 2026 involved so-called "petty theft" cases, according to Žilinka. The prosecutor general, who heads Slovakia's prosecutorial system and oversees major criminal cases, argued that lenient punishments have failed to address the persistent problem of repeat offending. Slovakia has struggled with rising petty crime rates, particularly theft, which has prompted calls for stricter enforcement measures and judicial reforms to better deter repeat offenders.