The Belgrade Center for Security Policy once again calls on the Ministry of Interior (MoI) to stop political attacks on citizens' associations and to start acting as an institution that is in service of the citizens, and to finally agree on public dialogue for systemic responses to the problems in police work.

A press release was published on December 26, 2017 on the MoI's website, in which the BCSP is accused of "constantly intensifying the negative campaign against the Ministry of the Interior", as well as publishing "comments that create public disturbance", and allegations of "malevolence and tendentiousness" as well as "false information on various topics" are mentioned as well.

The announcement followed immediately after the presentation of the BCSP research on the importance of public procurement for the police and research on MoI members’ opinions on occupations incompatible with the police profession. The main findings of these studies indicate the serious problems that the Ministry should focus on:

• Policemen do additional work mainly due to poor material situation, stress, poor working environment and the attitude of managers and citizens towards them. Due to the fact that, for more than ten years, there has been no legal framework concerning the jobs incompatible with the police work, the employees of the Ministry of Interior are not sure which jobs they can perform outside their working hours without being subjected to disciplinary or criminal charges. With the latest proposal for amendments to the Law on Police, the opportunity for the solving this problem adequately was missed, and the announced system of employment and promotion on the basis of professional merits will be further downgraded, as the exemptions from the establishment of employment in the Ministry through public calls is expanded.
• Due to the insufficient transparency of the Ministry, it is not possible to make a final conclusion on whether the police received the best patrol vehicles for the funds provided by the budget, or how harmful is the framework agreement for the purchase of original toners, which are up to 10 times more expensive than their quality replacements. Inefficient management of public procurement for the police threatens public safety, damages material status and the morale of police officers, which further reduces the safety of citizens.

Unfortunately, MoI continues with the bad practice of not responding to the BCSPs calls for public debate on research that indicates sensitive issues in the police. BCSP has submitted the results of the research to the Ministry before publishing the results, inviting them for a discussion. MoI’s representatives are referring to the findings of the BCSP reports when they indicate an increase in the confidence of citizens in the police, just how the other state institutions and international organizations, such as the Council of Europe and the European Union, do so in their own reports. The relevance and quality of the methodology and work of the BCSP is also illustrated by the fact that, for five years in a row, it has been highly ranked by the most famous global ranking list of research centers, as one of the best in Central and Eastern Europe, but also around the world on topics of defense and national security, as well as foreign policy and international relations.

The only interests of the BCSP is strengthening the integrity and accountability of the police, as well as its professionalization, and the main way to give our contribution to such goal a is by the independent research and concrete proposals. The polemics of the state representatives with civil society organizations based on the accusations of tendentiousness and maliciousness  restricts the right of citizens of Serbia to participate in the debate on issues of public importance, such as the responsibility of the police. We believe that open dialogue and increased transparency and accountability of MoI’s members are the best way to reclaim the integrity of the police and increase the confidence of citizens in this institution. The BCSP will continue to make efforts to open a dialogue, and it is on the Ministry to accept the helping hand and change its approach to communication with citizens.