Integrity Assessment in the Security Sector in Serbia

Based on this methodological framework, the key risk areas have been identified and the legal and practical weaknesses that can jeopardize institutional integrity examined: transparency, management, human resources, finance, internal and external oversight. These areas remain the same for all institutions but their significance varies between institutions as it depends on the degree of harm risks in these areas are likely to inflict in terms of the primary function of a given institution.

Researching institutional integrity is of vital importance as it can be of assistance in assessing whether institutions are behaving responsibly – in other words, whether they are meeting the goals and performing the functions for which they were established, all the while remaining within legal, strategic and ethical guidelines, and also keeping the public and other institutions informed about their activities.

In this, as in previous studies of corruption risk and the integrity of security sector actors, the BCSP research team and associates used a diverse range of publically available sources. Amongst the most significant of these were unquestionably questionnaires that were submitted to security sector institutions on the basis of requests for freedom of information, as well as interviews conducted with MoD, Ministry of the Interior, BIA and representatives of oversight bodies. In addition, various sources from print and electronic media were also used. An additional source of information and verification of data and findings came in the form of consultations with representatives of various organizational units within security institutions and oversight bodies. Finally, reports and statements from the aforementioned institutions were also used as sources.

This publication is made possible by the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the “Civil Society Forward” program, implemented by the Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC), within the project „Partnership for Integrity in Security Sector in Serbia“. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of ISC, USAID or the United States Government.