Croatia

Functions and missions
The police force is a public survice of the Ministry of the Interior that  provides to the citizens the protection of their fundamental constitutional rlghts and freedoms and the protection of other values protected by the Constitution. The police tasks are the following:

1. Protection of life, rights, safely and inviolability of person,
2. Protection of property,
3. Prevention and detection of criminal acts, misdemeanours and offences,
4. Searching for perpetrators of criminal acts, misdemeanours and offences and bringing them to the competent authorities,
5. Control and regulation of road traffic,
6. Alien affairs pursuant to law,
7. State border surveillance and protection, and
8. Other tasks defined by law.

The police tasks are performed by police officers of the Ministry at the headquarters, as well as in regional organizational nits.

2. Structure and organization
For the purpose of performing police tasks, the General Police Directorate has been established as an administrative organization within the Ministry.

The General Police Directorate has the following tasks:

1. Observing and analysing the security situation and occurences favourable for the emergence and development of crime,
2. Harmonising, directing and controlling the work of police administrations,
3. Direct participation in performing certain complex tasks within the scope of competence of police administrations,
4. Taking caer of the implementation of international agreements on police co-operation and other international instruments within the scope of its competence,
5. Organising and conducting forensic expertise,
6. Establishing the conditions for the functioning of the Police Academy,
7. Defining the standards for equipment, as well as material and technical means,
8. In line with special regulations, ensuring the readyness of the Police to act in emergency situations.

The General Police Directorate is managed by Director General.

For the purpose of performing the taks mentioned above, 20 police administrations have been established within the General Police Directorate in the Republic of Croatia.

Police administrations are classified in four categories according to the size of the area, number of inhabitans, number of criminal acts, misdemeanours and offences, characteristics of the traffic routes and geographical position.

The category of a particular police administration is determined by the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Croatia on the internal organization of the Ministry of the Interior.

Within the area of their establishment, police administrations perform the following tasks:

1. Observing and analysing the security situation and occurences favourable for the emergence and development of crime,
2. Organising, harmonising, directing and controlling the work of police stations,
3. Direct participation in peforming certain complex tasks within the scope of competence of police stations,
4. Implementing the defined measures regarding border control and state border protection,
5. Undertaking measures for the protection of particular persons and facilities,
6. Other tasks defined by special regulations.

For the purpose of directly performing police and other tasks, 187 police stations have been established within the police administrations.

Police stations are classified in three categories according to the size of the area, number of inhabitans, number of criminal acts, misdemeanours and offences, characteristics of the traffic routes and geographical position.

The category of a particular police station is determined by the Decree of the Government of the Republic of Croatia on the internal organization of the Ministry of the Interior.

3. Staff data

In its official letter, number 511-01-52-1153/2008 of 8 Januart 2008, the Legal and Personnel Affairs Directorate delivered the data on the total number of employed police officers and civil servants in the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia, noting that the said data is classified as "very secret" and "state secret" and thus cannot be published on web sites.

4. Education / Training

The Police Academy is an organizational unit of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia, consisting of the following units:

1. Police School

Police school implements a Seconday School Police Education Programme for adults lasting 12 months.
The programme is divided in theoretical part lasting 6 months, followed by 3 months of field work with mentoes and final 3 months of integrated training.

2. Police College

The Police College is higher education institution and scientific-research organizational unit of the Police Academy within the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia. It is accredited by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports.

There are two studies at the Police College: 

— Professional Studies of Criminal Investigation – 3 years (180 ECTS credits). Upon completion, the Bachelor's degree/baccalareus in criminal investigation is awarded.
— Specialist Graduate Studies of Criminal Investigation – 2 years (120 ECTS credits). Upon completion, the title of Specialist in Criminal Investigation (spec.) is awarded. 

3. Department for Professional Development and Specialization

Department for professional development and specialization consists of three segments:

— Specialization – the Department is in charge of the training of uniformed police officers (e.g.: the Specialized Course for Traffic Police Officers), border police officers and CID officers (e.g.: the Course for Suppression of Juvenile Delinquency).
— Professional Training – the Department is in charge of preparing the seminar materials and training of the trainers who then train police officers at the level of the police administrations (e.g.: Train the Trainers Seminars).
— Vocational Training – the Department is in charge of conducting different courses and seminars in the field of IT training, foreign languages, police driving etc.