Undercover police may be breaking law by being out of uniform

A legal dispute has broken out over whether town police forces should be obliged to wear uniforms or should be allowed to go undercover in civilian clothes, reported the Pravda daily on Tuesday. A number of local councils had begun sending out police officers in civilian clothes in order to improve the chances of catching people who engage in illegal dumping, fail to clean up after their dogs or engage in other activities that they would be unlikely to pursue if a police officer in uniform were in view. However, district prosecutors have stated in a number of cases that such a move is against the law. The towns of Michalovce, Trnava and Hlohovec adopted the idea, but the latter has since backed down after hearing the move may not be legal. The district prosecutor's office claims that according to the law, town police forces must wear a uniform with the words 'Town Police' displayed. This was despite the fact that the local council didn't agree that the law is so unambiguous on the matter. Head of the town police in Trnava Igor Kelesi is also vice-president of the Association of Town and Village Police Chiefs, which has decided to draw up a commentary and legal stance on the law concerning local police forces. "It's a dispute between two legal opinions. If the town [Trnava] is sent a warning from the prosecutor's office, I will insist that the local councillors should ignore it. Let a court decide on the matter", he said, stating that many other local authorities are of the same opinion.