A strategic document, drafted with the support of the OSCE Mission in Serbia, that outlines the direction and ways the Ministry of Interior will develop during, to become a reliable partner and mainstay of European integration and provide a public service — serving, helping and protecting the citizens.
On January 20th, 2011 the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia will mark its bicentenary. In the course of its 200-year history, it operated in different states; organizational forms and operating methods changed and so did people. However, the Ministry continued to work in the interest of justice, enforcing and protecting the laws and the citizens of the Republic of Serbia.
In constant search of the best methods for fulfilling its constitutional and legal mission, the Ministry adapts to the actual needs of the citizens. In order to achieve that, it must open itself to cooperation and partnership with the international community and civil society both on the central and local levels. Furthermore, it must raise its capacities and reputation it enjoys as an institution, which entails internal reorganization in order to create a more efficient police service that is less costly for Serbian citizens.
Problems are not solved by removing their consequences, but rather by addressing the causes. The causes of security problems are economic, social or political. All these areas are outside of the scope of police work. The state authorities and the society as a whole need therefore to mobilize themselves and participate in eliminating these causes in the struggle for creating a better and safer Serbia. Our Ministry will contribute to this struggle to the best of its abilities and subject to its competences. However, we cannot win without the help of other stakeholders. Therefore we will initiate, but also accept every useful and well-intentioned initiative to the same end.
The Ministry of Interior is facing a new phase of its development. The goal of this process is, from the standpoint of the international community, to become a reliable partner and mainstay of European integration. From the perspective of law abiding citizens, we must become a public service serving, helping and protecting the citizens.
On the other hand, those who infringe on the Law may not expect and will not receive other protection from the police but the guarantee that all their rights, freedoms and human dignity will be respected in the course of an investigation.
This Strategy points to the direction and ways in which this process will develop.