Croatian police assisting at Slovenian ski resorts

Two Croatian police officers have joined their Slovenian counterparts on Slovenian ski slopes to help out during the winter school holidays, CE Report quotes The Slovenia Times.

The Croatian police officers will work at the ski resorts of Kope, Rogla and Kranjska Gora until 2 March. They will wear special uniforms and will not be armed.

Their main task will be assisting their Slovenian colleagues when handling any offences or visiting sites of skiing accidents, police officer Boštjan Kavc told reporters at Kope.

Primary and secondary school children in the eastern part of the country just started their week-long winter break. The western part, along with the capital, will have its school holidays a week later.

With the larger turnout at ski resorts, police presence is also increased to help ski lift operators and inspectors to ensure safety.

Data from the home affairs inspectorate shows that in the last skiing season 625 persons across 22 ski resorts were involved in accidents, including 525 skiers and 95 snowboarders. Most injured skiers sustained minor injuries, while 40 sustained serious injuries.

The majority or 72% of people involved in these accidents were Slovenian nationals, while 10% were Croatian.

Skiers aged 11 to 14 sustained most injuries, while the youngest person to get injured on the ski slopes was four and the oldest was 86 years old.

Skiing accidents are most often caused by poor skiing skills, Kavc said, adding that the number of injuries has been declining in the last decade.

Croatian police officers are working at Slovenian ski resorts as part of an initiative that dates back to 2013, in which Croatian police help out in winter and their Slovenian colleagues return the favour in summer by working in Croatian seaside resorts, Croatian police official Elvira Jakopinec Lacković said.