INTERNATIONAL POLICE EXECUTIVE SYMPOSIUM
10th ANNUAL MEETING
Kingdom of Bahrain - Mamlakat al-Bakharin
Police and Community
11-15 OCTOBER 2003
Police and Community Relations in Serbia
Želimir Kešetović PhD, Police College, zelimir@verat.net
colonel Miloš Vojinovć, Ministry of Interior mup@mup.sr.gov.yu
Presentation plan:
1. Background
2. Reform of the Ministry of Interior
3. Community policing
Serbia – fact&figurers
Total area: 88,412 sq. km.,
Capital: Belgrade
Population: 8. 000 000 refugees 800 000
Ethnic Groups: Serb 63 % Albanian, 17%. Montenegrin, 5 %. Hungarian, 3% %. Other, 12%
Languages: Serbian 95 % Albanian 5%
Religions: Orthodox, 65 %. Muslim, 19 %. Roman Catholic, 4 %. Protestant, 1 %. Other, 11 %
Gross Domestic Product: $20.6 billion (1999)
GDP real growth rate: -20 % (1999)
GDP per capita: $1,800 (1999)
Chief industries: machine building, metallurgy, mining, electronics, petroleum products,
chemicals, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods (the break-up of Yugoslavia -- with the ensuing loss
of close Communist-era trade ties and a succession of bloody military campaigns over the past
decade -- has sparked a sharp drop in the country's industrial output)
Agricultural products: cereals, fruits, vegetables, tobacco, olives; cattle, sheep, goats
1990-2000 Police in the system of personal rule
•Criminalization - on the highest level reflected in coupling of the police leaders and
heads of crime groups, and on the lower levels of police hierarchy had forms of various
kinds of corruption.
•Politization - misused for political purposes
•Centralization
•Obedience - main feature of the police professional culture
•Militarization
•Lack of capable leaders
•No Police Code
•No external control or oversight. The public, including parliament, had almost no
insight in functioning of the police. Complains against the policemen were handled by
internal police bodies (superiors or Disciplinary court), and rarely by courts (that were
also under control of the politics, e.g. ruling party). Political criteria were above the law
and profe
•Low level of public confidence
From police force to police service
October, 5th 2000 – real step into transition
Complete revision of the security concept was a high priority and that immediate and
substantive change in all the organizational and functional sections of the Ministry of
Interior must correct the serious inherited shortcomings
The reform of the Ministry has been implemented parallel in three main areas:
•the reform of practice (increasing the efficiency of work);
•legislative reform (drafting of laws and regulations); and
•long-term strategy for the development of law enforcement agencies.
AIM
create professional, depolitized police responsible for law enforcement and protection
of human rights and freedoms, efficient in prevention and repression of crime and other
phenomena that endanger public safety, and under effective internal and external
control and oversight, giving its contribution to consolidation of the values of
democratic society and incorporating Serbia in European integrations.
KEY PARTNERS
OSCE
DCHR
COE
NGOs
VALUES
•Rule of law
•Human rights and freedoms
•Political neutrality (impartiality)
•Professionalism and respect for cultural diversities
•Representative towards community (in terms of ethnic, gender, etc.)
•Cooperation with citizens and their associations
•Transparency
•Responsibility
STRATEGIC TASKS
•fight against organized crime and corruption
•efficient solving of hard crimes that caused disturbance of public in previous
period
•suppression of terrorism of paramilitary groups of ethnic Albanians in south Serbia
(Ground Safety Zone)
•personal and material and technical restoration of the police, its depolitisation and
decriminalization
•transparency in work and transforming the police into service of citizens
•cooperation with foreign police organizations
What has been done so far ?
•Strategic document made
•New legislation
•New organization
•New leadership
•New uniforms
•International cooperation
•Police Code
•Public projects
•Women and ethnic minorities in police
Community policing project
AIMS
Prevention
Partnership
Better communications
Decrease of crime
Problem oriented work
Measuring of performance
Adjusting police service to the needs of the citizens
Police as a modern service of the citizens
Decentralization
Improving of overall security and quality of life
Responsibility
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•
•
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Elements of the vision
Cooperation between police and public
Education and advice
Security problem analysis and solutions
Informing and reporting
Users
•Citizens
•Families
•Local government
•Business enterprises
•Various associations
•Education institutions
•Social care institutions
5 years goals
To gain own experience and knowledge necessary for implementing this model
in local conditions
Education of citizens and police
Appropriate organization of the police on the local, regional and national level
Recognition of the operational projects
Operationalisation of the projects
AMBITIONS
PILOT PROJECT – Police in the local community
•Develop a new philosophy
Started in June 2002 in 10 towns
•Built a partnership
Partners: OSCE, English, Swiss and Norwegian police
•Develop security culture
Done so far: survey of public opinion,
•Leadership and prevention
city councils for security formed
•Public confidence
education of the police and citizens
action plans
Next steps: recognition of the security problems
defining priorities
strategic planning
analysis of the results
evaluation
Obstacles and problems
Political instability
Legacy of the past
Resources (HR, $….)
Different opinions
Media relations
Ethnical tensions
Thank you very much !