Žilina is monitored by cameras operated by the disabled. (source: Jana Liptáková)
SIX physically handicapped people in Žilina now have jobs thanks to the city police department, which has hired them to operate surveillance cameras from a control room, the Pravda daily wrote.
The city benefits from hiring the physically handicapped because governments and public organisations that do not can be fined.
“The town will employ 14 such people, so by employing six the police helped it avoid sanctions,” said Stanislav Kľučka, head of the Žilina police.
The control room was created through funding from the European Social Fund. The police department has agreed to hire them for three years.
“Moreover, the police officers who used to operate the cameras were reassigned to walk the streets,” Kľučka added.
However, the police department was unable to employ people in wheelchairs.
“The rooms at the police department are not accessible to wheelchairs,” Kľučka said.
Eva Banariová, one of those hired, seemed excited about the job.
“We operate the camera system and observe what happens in specific places,” she said. “It is interesting work.”
Soňa Holúbková of the Krajina Harmónie foundation, which helps the physically handicapped integrate into everyday life, also approves of the work.
“It is a good example for other employers,” she said. “It is best when employers think of what the disabled can do rather than what they cannot.”
