POLICE

More than 100 representatives from Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior, Security-Intelligence Agency, independent government institutions, many embassies and international organizations in Serbia, as well as students, civil society organizations and media have gathered at conference on integrity in the security sector organized by BCSP.

The subject of this publication is the integrity of the three most significant security sector institutions in Serbia: the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces of Serbia; the Ministry of the Interior and the police; and the Security Information Agency.

The debate organized by the BCSP outlined clear legal framework, procedures, appropriate control, and independence from any sort of political influence as requirements in order to strengthen the security services integrity.

Strengthening the integrity in the security sector was the subject of expert consultations which gathered 28 representatives of the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior, Security-Information Agency, the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, the Ombudsman, the Commissioner for Information of Public importance and Personal Data Protection, Agency for fighting against corruption, the Public Procurement Office and the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy, from 9 to 11 July at Fruska Gora.

Police corruption at the Serbian Border Police is assessed in the new analysis of the BCSP researcher Sasa Djordjevic. At the beginning of analysis, the attitudes of citizens and police on corruption in the border police are represented, and after, the risks and forms of corruption.

For an efficient fight against corruption in the police, a systematic approach is necessary, as well as enforcement of preventive and repressive measures and inclusion of the Police Unions and civil society organizations, which can, to great assistance, contribute to the fight against corruption. This was concluded during the three day seminar at Mokra gora which gathered representatives of Ministry of the Interior, police unions, and civil society organizations.

Management of human resources, procurements, and additional work of officers which is incompatible with police work are the main risks of corruption in the police. In order to manage an efficient fight against corruption, it is necessary to depoliticize the police, have a transparent human resource management, and build the integrity of policemen as well as their superiors. It was concluded during the conference: "The risks of corruption in the police force and strengthening the integrity of the police".

Journalists from six national and seven local and regional media participated in the training organized by Belgrade Center for Security Policy (BCSP) held on April 24-25, aiming to teach them how to do research on corruption in police, military and security services

Efficient fight against corruption in the police requires an improvement in human resource management, strengthening the sector of internal control, police depolitization, but also encouragement for both citizens and police officers to report cases of corruption, it was concluded at panel discussions held on April 28th and 30th, in Majdanpek, Zrenjanin, and Becej.