Bomb threat alerts are back in Zagreb schools - primary and secondary schools evacuated, police carrying out checks. False bomb reports at Croatian educational institutions show no sign of stopping: just last week, on Friday, classes were suspended across all Zagreb schools while sappers carried out inspections. Now - new reports, new evacuations, new panic.

The pattern is clear: someone is sending alerts knowing the system must respond. Evacuation protocols are mandatory - police cannot say "this is probably a hoax" and leave children in the building. As a result, every alert - real or not - triggers the same chaos.

Croatia is not the only country facing this kind of wave. Similar incidents have occurred in Slovenia, Bulgaria, and earlier in Macedonia. Coordinated or not, these alerts are an effective tool for generating fear without any actual threat. The cost to society is enormous, the perpetrator remains anonymous, and the system must follow the same rules every time.

Police are calling for stricter legal penalties for false alarms. Croatia has already moved in this direction - with enhanced tracking of digital message trails. Whether that will work, or whether this is simply the new normal of a society on permanent standby alert, remains to be seen.