Slovenia

1. Functions and missions
2. Structure and organization
3. Staff data
4. Education / Training
5. Oversight

1. Functions and missions 
The Slovenian Police is tasked to safeguard the country’s constitution and democratic political system, human rights, fundamental freedoms and societal values. The work of the police is based on respect for, and enforcement of, legal order, as well as relevant European and international conventions. 

Pursuant to the 1998 Law on Police, the National Police:

• protects citizens’ lives, personal safety and property; 

• prevents, detects and investigates penal acts and minor offences, arresting offenders and, if necessary, extraditing them;

• maintain public order;

• control and regulate traffic on roads and waterways;

• protect and control state borders;

• perform tasks defined in the regulations on foreigners;

• protect certain persons, bodies, buildings and districts; and

• protect certain work places and the secrecy of information of state bodies, if not otherwise defined by law.

2. Structure and organization 
As an independent body within the framework of the Ministry of the Interior, the Slovenian National Police performs tasks on three levels: national, regional and local. 
Organizationally, it is composed of General and Regional Police Directorates, as well as local police stations. Headquarters are located in Ljubljana. 

At the state level, the General Police Directorate consists of nine directorates, headed by a Director General. There are 11 regions in Slovenia, each under the jurisdiction of a police directorate while locally there are 106 police stations carrying out policing duties and accountable to the regional police directorate. 

While the General and Regional Police Directorates perform the regulative, co-ordinating and supervisory functions at their respective levels, local police stations safeguard civil security at the local level and actually carry out more than 90% of all policing tasks. 

Managerially, the Director General of the Police is also the manager of the General Police Directorate who co-ordinates, directs and supervises the overall work, ensuring the legitimate performance of police tasks, issuing regulations and decrees and ensuring compliance with pertinent laws and regulations. 

3. Staff data 
As of 2006, there were about 9,000 police personnel, the majority of them uniformed officers, in addition to others (e.g. criminologists, special unit staff) employed by the National Police. There are 44.3 police officers per 10,000 inhabitants in Slovenia and their average age is 33.

4. Education / Training
The Slovenian Police Academy was established in Tacen, near the capital Ljubljana, in April 2000. One of nine directorates and the only institute in Slovenia that provides education for the police, it offers residential and training facilities for about 400 students. 

The Police Academy comprises a:

• Police College: two-year study programme to become a police inspector;

• Police High School: recruitment training lasting 18 months, which can be commenced upon completion of any four-year secondary school. During basic training, two terms are spent in school and the rest at police stations;

• Training and Education Centre: organization of specialized training courses at the Academy and at other locations in Slovenia. The Academy also cooperates with various police training institutions abroad;

• Training and Education Division Gotenica;

• Service Dogs Training Division;

• Auxiliary Police Officers' Training Centre;

• Support Division

The majority of the Police Academy’s staff hold university degrees. For more information, please see the Links section.

5. Oversight
Citizens’ initiatives, proposals and complaints to and about the police are viewed as a form of public monitoring of police work and an incentive for professionalism in police work. In case of complaints, a Senate composed of three members (i.e. chairman, public representative and Police Union representative) evaluates the substance and renders a binding decision.

In addition to such external controls, the Police itself controls the legitimacy, professionalism and quality of work performed. Being a hierarchic, three-level organization, the internal management control mechanisms also work on several levels: the General Police Directorate supervises the work of police directorates, which in turn supervise the work of police stations. 

The Office of the Director General of the Police, which manages all issues related to its functions and competencies, is composed of four divisions as follows: supervision; complaints; internal security and assistance; and systems analysis and international co-operation. For more information, please see the Links section.