The Main Problem in Macedonia: Politicization of the Police

There are allegations that the police internal control chooses whether to punish a police officer based on their political party is affiliationed.

By Luka Ličina (BCSP) / Photo: SRNA

Thousands of people have taken to the streets in the Macedonian capital Skopje on 8 of May 2015 to protest against alleged police brutality. The protests started after the opposition leader Zoran Zaev accused the Macedonian government of trying to cover up the 2011 police killing of a 22-year-old man, as well as tapping the phones of 20,000 people, including police officers, judges and journalists. Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski denieds any wrongdoing.

Ten months after the protest, in March 2016, Macedonian’s Special Prosecutior said it was investigating five people, including a former Minister of Interior, for the alleged illegal destruction of equipment used for large-scale illegal wiretapping. Nikola Gruevski, who resigned as Prime Minister last month, says the wiretapping tapes released by the opposition were “fabricated” by an unnamed foreign intelligence services in order to destabilize the country.

Macedonia is currently facing a new protest because president decided to stop criminal proceedings against politicians. Today, the POINTPULSE Network is talking with the Analytica researcher Kaltrina Selimi about the ongoing police reform in Macedonia and politicization of the police.

─ What are the consequences of police corruption in Macedonia?

The police corruption mostly affects the level of trust in the police forces, with the tendency through the years for to report the cases of bribery to a lesser extent. One of the reasons for this is due to believing that proper action will not be taken against these persons, with the second one being the lack of practical tools that would make the reporting easier for everyone.

Trust in the police has been estimated as quite satisfactory according to the OSCE report a year ago, where 51% of the citizens claimed they trust the police, wheres similar results were confirmed by a phone survey conducted by Analytica in three municipalities in Skopje. However the campaigns against police corruption are missing and citizens are often not informed about the ways in which they could report corruption especially that of the police officers.

─ What are the main three problems in police reform process in your country?

Politicization of the police forces has been raised as an issue many times in the past regardless of what party is in the government. Recruitment, employing and promotion of police officers is believed to be based on their political affiliation.

The Department for Internal control keeps getting criticized over the years for avoiding to punish their police colleagues and for a tendency to be biased.

There are allegations that the department chooses whether to punish a police officer based on their political party affiliation. If they belongs to the ruling party in the government then the police officer might get milder punishment or no punishment at all.

The Ombudsman is set as an external control mechanism, but his work often faces obstructions, such in the cases where requested information for investigations against police officers gets delayed or is fully disclosed.

The lack of transparency continues to be a phenomenon seen in most state institutions, and in particular within the security institutions and the police. Police actions are often conducted with minimum or no explanation to the wider public regarding their results.

─ Is there an example of good practises in tackling police corruption in your country?

The practice of reporting police corruption through the internet was welcomed by the citizens as a very good idea, as it allowed the citizens to file complaints anonymously without fear. It encouraged the citizens to report more cases of them being asked for bribes and similar.

This tool is integrated within the website of the Ministry of Interior, and complaints go directly to the Department for Internal Control, Criminal Investigations and Professional Standards (DICCIPS) who are entitled to do the internal control over the police forces.

However, the efficiency of these tools comes into question when there is no follow-up with actions.

─ What are the main three recommendations to foster police reform process in your country?

The phenomenon of  improper document classification continues to be present in the institutions dealing with security issues such as the Ministry of Interior in this case. Every classification of documents that are of concern to the citizens themselves could be seen as problematic.

There have been cases where even strategies were considered as classified. As a result the main recommendations for improving the police reform process would for the Ministry of Interior avoid over-classification of documents that are relevant to the policing.

It is necessary to strengthen the cooperation between the internal and external control of police, as well as to ensure that information are shared between these two in a timely manner.

Society organizations should be included to a greater extent in drafting any strategic concepts or documents relevant to policing in order to make the overall process an inclusive one.