Admission to OSCE: 10 November 2000
OSCE Mission to Serbia: Established January 2001. Please visit the Links section to view its official website.
Policing overview: Overall policing falls under the jurisdiction of the General Police Directorate in the Ministry of the Interior. Specialized agencies include the Security Information Agency, the Tax Police and the Customs Administration.
1. General information
2. Functions and missions
3. Structure and organization
4. Staff data
5. Education / Training
6. Oversight
1. General information
The Ministry of the Interior is in charge of public security. Its competency covers the whole territory of the Republic of Serbia, with the exception of the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija temporarily under UN administration (UNMIK).
2. Functions and missions
The main function of the police is to protect life, rights, freedom and personal integrity of individuals; to support the rule of law; protect property; prevent, detect and solve criminal offences and violations; to combat crime and its organized and other forms; identify and arrest the perpetrators of criminal offences and violations; maintain public order; offer help in case of danger; to regulate, control and oversee traffic; secure public events, persons, organs, buildings and areas; to survey and protect the state border; to control state border crossings; implement the border area regime; identify and settle border incidents; to accomplish tasks set out by the regulations on aliens.
3. Structure and organization
The Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Serbia consists of several organizational units summarized by the organization chart in the Attachments section. In addition, the General Police Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior consists of 15 organizational units at the headquarters of the Ministry and 27 Regional Police Directorates.
There are 48 police substations at the headquarters of the regional police directorates, and 161 police stations in the municipalities outside of the headquarters.
The General Police Directorate also comprises specialized police stations and substations:
4. Staff data
As of September 30, 2006 total staff of the Ministry of the Interior numbered 42,740. As for gender division, 80.04% were male and 19.96% (8,533) were female. The number of uniformed police officers was 26,527, 1,833 thereof being female (6.9%).
5. Education / Training
As of 2006, the following institutions provided education to police personnel, but the entire official police education system is being restructured and therefore information is likely to evolve:
In June 2006, the Criminal and Police Academy was formed by integration of the Police College and the Police Academy. The first generation of students enrolled in the school year 2006/2007.
The Police High school is currently being transformed into the Basic Level Police Training Centre.
6. Oversight
The Minister of the Interior submits reports every six months or upon special request. Through the Committee for Defence and Security, the National Parliament has the capacity to monitor police activities. Civil society, NGOs, the media, and the Ombudsperson also play a role in oversight.
As for internal oversight mechanisms, the Sector for Internal Control of the Police responds to complaints and grievances, determines the facts, reports to the Minister of the Interior and the Police Director and proposes corrections of the irregularities identified. The Bureau for Complaints and Grievances, within the Cabinet of the Minister of the Interior, has similar tasks and works closely with the Sector for Internal Control of the Police.
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Organigram of the Ministry of Interior [English] (49.50 Kb)
Organigram of the Ministry of Interior [English] (Format: PDF) http://polis.osce.org/countries/view?item_id=46&attach_id=186 Organization chart of the Ministry of the Interior of Serbia |
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1. General information
2. Prosecution
1. General information
The role of the police within the criminal justice system is to prevent, detect, investigate and solve misdemeanors, felonies and other violations, including organized crime, war crimes and other crimes. It also includes finding and apprehending perpetrators of criminal offences, as well as other persons wanted by the authorities, and bringing them to justice.
2. Prosecution
The co-operation mechanisms between the police, prosecutor and investigating judge, provided in the Criminal Procedure Code and contained within the framework of provisions governing pre-trial proceedings, include:
The new Criminal Procedure Code gives substantially more authority and responsibility during the investigative phase of the procedure to the public prosecutor. It is s/he who decides upon the opening and closing of an investigation, assumes most of the prerogatives from the investigative judge, retains decision-making power regarding detention and appeals, and undertakes procedural actions upon the prosecutor's request.
Ministry of the Interior - Serbia
Ministry of the Interior - Serbia http://www.mup.gov.rs/cms_eng/home.nsf/index-eng.html
Official website of the Serbian Ministry of the Interior
OSCE Mission to Serbia
OSCE Mission to Serbia http://www.osce.org/serbia/
Official website of the OSCE Mission to Serbia. Under its mandate, the Mission advises on the implementation of laws and monitors the proper functioning and development of democratic institutions and processes in Serbia.
OSCE/ ODIHR Legislationline - Serbia
OSCE/ ODIHR Legislationline - Serbia http://www.legislationline.org/topics/country/5/topic/12
Legislationline is a gratis internet-based legislative database published and maintained by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).
Last Updated: 11 July 2007