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Press Release:
BCSP: Police Must Not Serve as Instrument of Repression or a Shield for Political Power Preservation
The Belgrade Centre for Security Policy (BCSP) expresses grave concern over the President of Serbia's overreach of constitutional authority through undue pressure on police officers and open violations of the Police Act. We remind the President that they lack the legal mandate to make decisions regarding the appointment or dismissal of police personnel and urge strict adherence to Serbia’s Constitution and legal framework.
The President’s recent statement—“Police officers failing to protect order and law will be replaced”—constitutes a direct threat to law enforcement personnel and a blatant violation of the constitutional order and legal norms that the police are duty-bound to uphold. Such rhetoric erodes legal certainty, undermines institutional integrity, and intensifies public mistrust while creating a climate of insecurity within the police force itself.
The police must not be instrumentalised for political purposes or coerced into engaging in unlawful conduct. It is particularly alarming that officers have been pressured to tolerate criminal-affiliated individuals, deploy prohibited crowd-control measures such as sonic weapons against peaceful demonstrators, arrest young people on unfounded terrorism charges, and physically shield corrupt local power structures.
We underscore that Article 33 of the Police Act obliges police officers to reject unlawful orders, while Article 207 classifies both the issuance and execution of such orders as serious misconduct. Police officers are required to act strictly within the bounds of constitutional and legal authority—not in response to political directives or individual influence.
BCSP calls on all police officers to uphold professional integrity and legal responsibility, resist political interference, and report any form of institutional coercion to the appropriate oversight bodies. At the same time, we urge political leaders to refrain from inflammatory rhetoric that destabilises the socio-political environment. Any attempt to impose emergency measures or use state force to retain political power will deepen the political crisis and endanger state stability.
We urge the authorities to exercise political responsibility, abandon divisive tactics, and seek peaceful, institutional solutions to the current crisis. Police are not a political instrument or a shield for power—they are guardians of constitutional order and the rights of all citizens, without exception.
Belgrade, 23 March 2025
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