BELGRADE — The regional network of civil society organizations POINTPULSE is joined by two new members: Analytica from Skopje and Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) from Tirana.
New members of the POINTPULSE network consider the issue of strengthening public confidence in law enforcement agencies in the Western Balkans through fighting police corruption and promoting police integrity of outmost importance for the Western Balkans communities.
“It was natural to join POINTPULSE network because Analytica is working on security sector reforms in Macedonia for the previous 8 years and POINTPULSE it is the only network in the Balkans that deals with the issue of police integrity. I believe that regional cooperation will contribute in proposing and advocating for improvement of police integrity, because when civil society are united in regional network, we will more likely be recognized as a serious partner with credibility. We will definitely learn a lot from colleagues from the region”, says Andreja Bogdanovski, Research Fellow from Analytica.
The POINTPULSE network should invest further efforts in police reform so as to facilitate its transformation into the service of the citizens, stressed Besjana Kuci, IDM Researcher.
“As the many research shows, police is one of the least trusted institutions among the citizens in the Western Balkans. In this regard, establishing an effective dialogue between civil society, national law enforcement agencies and other relevant stakeholders is essential for the network to have more impact when it comes to implementing sound anti-corruption policies and improving police integrity and, eventually, trust of the citizens in police”, concluded IDM Researcher.
In order to improve the quality of activities, POINTPULSE organized advocacy workshop 7-9 March 2016 in Belgrade. During three days of intense dialogue old and new members of the network discussed the plan for joint activities in the upcoming period. They singled out the potential new priorities for the network, such as monitoring the use of police powers and use of force, as well as the issue of border police capacities during the migrant crisis.
During the second day of the workshop, on the International Women’s Day, a panel discussion “Women in the Police“ was organized in the Belgrade Media Centre. Representatives of the POINTPULSE Network concluded that women in police throughout the region don’t have equal opportunities for career development, and that police women still face many prejudices at work.
Civil society organizations
dedicated to oversight of police integrity.