SARAJEVO — Police in the Western Balkans are plagued by politicization and corruption, which is why the citizens have low level of trust in their national law enforcement agencies.
Police services in the Western Balkans share similar negative traits that are the key reasons why the level of trust they have among the citizens well below global average, which is between 60-90%. In order for the citizens to have better attitudes toward police, it is necessary that more efforts are invested in increasing the integrity of these institutions, panellists concluded at the debate organized by POINTPULSE network in Sarajevo on May 8.
The first panel opened with the Deputy Minister of Security of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mijo Krešic, who pointed at the importance of police cooperation between the countries in the region which needs to be strengthened in order to answer security threats in the Western Balkans.
The Head of Rule of Law Section of the EU Delegation in BIH, Richard Wood, discussed the differences between police forces in the Balkans and those in the United Kingdom.
“Citizens of the UK feel safe in their country because they feel that they can trust the police. They think that the police are friendly, reliable and effective in their work, and it would be great if the citizens from the Western Balkans could share the same feelings about their own,” Wood concluded.
The anti-corruption expert from the Regional Anti-corruption Initiative (RAI), Kiro Cvetkov, pointed out that the regional police services are in the process of reform and that it is extremely important that adequate models for this reform are selected. The reforms must be sustainable, meaning that they must be realistic and achievable in the given contexts of the Western Balkans, pointed out Cvetkov.
A particularly important role in this process is that of the civil society organizations dealing with corruption in general and, more specifically, within police.
Key problem one: politicization
At the second panel, representatives of five regional CSOs gathered around POINTPULSE network presented their findings regarding police integrity. Belgrade Centre for Security Policy’s (BCSP) Researcher Saša Djordjevic singled out overt politicization of police as one of the most fundamental problems that is present in all law enforcement agencies the Western Balkans region.
“The key issue that needs to be addressed is the extent of the influence politicians exert on police, especially in regards to their operational work. This is crucial element to understanding why citizens perceive their national police forces as not working in their interest, as service of the citizens, but rather as protecting interest of political parties and the governments. This is why the reform needs to focus on depoliticization of police” said Djordjevic.
The problem of politicization of police is a cross-cutting issue, since it causes a host of other problems, pointed out Dina Bajramspahic, Researcher from Podgorica-based Institute Alternative (IA).
Key problem two: inadequate human resource management
While discussing the case of Montenegro, Bajramspahic interlinked the problem of excessive politicization to the career advancement and human resource management within police.
“The Montenegrin Government is the single largest employer in the country, and through setting, or refusing to, set clear rules and procedures of employment in police it holds sway on the operational police work” explained Bajramspahic.
This is one of the reasons why recruiting of police officers is done without merit or criteria, with frequent and unexplained shifts between positions of high ranking police officials.
“This is why it is crucial to establish effective procedures and mechanisms for professionalization of police, primarily through better management if human resources” concluded Bajramspahic.
Similar problems exist in Kosovo, pointed out Plator Avdiu, Researcher from Kosovar Centre for Security Policy (KCSS). Kosovo police is the youngest institution of its type in Europe, since it was developed only in the last 15 years.
“However, the police are among the oldest, if the average age of police officers is taken into account, which points to the improper management of human resources. This problem should be solved through the adoption of the new Law on Early Retirement of Police Officers” Avdiu concluded.
Key problem three: corruption within police
Citizens in BiH, as well as in other Western Balkans communities, believe that corruption is deeply enrooted within the institution itself, pointed out Alma Kovacevic, the project coordinator of Sarajevo-based Center for Security Studies (CSS). This is especially devastating to the image the police have since they are the ones who should be leading the fight against corruption.
“In BIH, police is considered to be one of the most corrupt institutions, with numerous affairs that are never being processed and with no final convictions of the perpetrators,” Kovacevic stated.
The the main protagonists of corruption affairs, even within security institutions, are always politicians and top rannking officials with their close associates with whom they engage in illegal activities.
„Since these people are not being processed, it creates an atmosphere of impunity and the feeling that not everyone is equal before the law, with negative impact on the level of trust in police among the citizens“ concluded Kovacevic.
By Bojan Elek (BCSP)
Civil society organizations
dedicated to oversight of police integrity.