Abstract
Frequent disruptions of historical and political continuity in Serbia have been reflected in the organization of the police. In 1990s under the rule of Slobodan Milošević the police were the pillar of the regime, whose main task was not to serve and protect the people, but to support the political regime.
After democratic changes in October 2000 as a part of the overall social reform, the reform of the Ministry of Interior was launched immediately. Cornerstone challenges of this reform were flagged as the four “Ds”—depoliticization, decentralization, decriminalization, and demilitarization. Mainly positive remarks would be heard in the statements and presentations from the official sources while foreign experts, national independent researchers, and NGOs are very critical of the reform results.
Serbia is still not a consolidated democracy, but rather, in a way, a weak state lacking basic political and national consensus even on “big issues.” For this reason, it is very hard to predict the future development in policing. It will depend on the development of the social and political situation and the moves of the EU and international community. A necessary prerequisite for speeding up the reform process in police and policing in general is a radical change in the way that the political leadership is managing the process of transition towards a modern and open society based upon the rule of law and a respect for human rights.
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Notes
- 1.
The territory of Kosovo and Metohija is, according to Serbian constitution, an integral part of Serbia. However as from 1999 Serbia practically has no effective powers in Kosovo and Metohija the text will refer to Serbia without this province.
- 2.
The data from the 2011 census on nationality or ethnicity, gender and age, religion, and other characteristics will be successively made public from mid-2012 until the end of 2013. http://www.srbija.gov.rs/pages/article.php?id=36
- 3.
Serbian Constitution available on http://www.predsednik.rs/mwc/epic/doc/ConstitutionofSerbia.pdf
- 4.
The main values that had to be protected from a plethora of “domestic and foreign enemies” were ideological: for example, the system of socialistic self-management, the brotherhood, and unity of nations that lived in Yugoslavia and the nonalignment foreign policy. Securing them was the priority of the police and other agencies which controlled both media and citizens alike.
- 5.
Notorious Resor državne bezbednosti.
- 6.
See more in Kešetović (2008).
- 7.
Among layman and even among professionals terms police and Ministry of interior are often confused.
- 8.
Although Serbia has no effective power in the province, police officers, and managers employed in regional police directorates in Kosovo and Metohija, after signing Kumanovo agreement and withdrawal of Serbian police are now located in the regional police directorate in the south of central Serbia.
- 9.
More information on Directorate are available on http://prezentacije.mup.gov.rs/upravazaobrazovanje/en-prec.html
- 10.
Police High School and BPTC existed parallely till August 2009 when last generation finished their schooling in PHS.
- 11.
Information on Curriculum available on Center’s website http://www.copo.edu.rs/English-59-2
- 12.
Minister of the Interior approves the selection of candidates for the dean and vice dean, approves the programs of scientific research and decides on the number of students enrolling in the first year.
- 13.
See more on http://www.kpa.edu.rs/en/
- 14.
Slavko Ćuruvija and Dragomir Pantić. Ćuruvija was under surveillance of secret police 1 min before he was killed near his flat in the centre of Belgrade in the middle of the day. Milošević´s wife in certain way announced this murder few days before. These cases were never solved (Kešetović, 2007a).
- 15.
The most important and comprehensive was the project of improving communications between media and police launched in 2005 together with the OSCE. See more in Kešetović (2007a).
- 16.
Police reform survey, Ipsos Strategic Marketing, October 2010.
- 17.
Interviewees were provided with possibility to give several answers to these questions (a maximum of three). The answers of interviewees were summed up and the percent of presence of individual problems was included in regard to the total number of answers. Summing up the answers that deal with drug abuse and trafficking provided us with the presented percentage.
- 18.
The state security sector (police) and private security work in parallel, mutual relations are not regulated, and collaboration so that occasionally occurs in some cases based on personal relations and acquaintances, not on a system that has made self-sustaining (Kešetović, 2007b).
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Kešetović, Ž.M. (2013). Serbian Police: Troubled Transition from Police Force to Police Service. In: Meško, G., Fields, C., Lobnikar, B., Sotlar, A. (eds) Handbook on Policing in Central and Eastern Europe. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6720-5_13
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