From 18 to 21 March the Mission in Serbia supported the Ministry of Interior’s Basic Police Training Centre (BPTC) in organising outreach sessions in predominantly minority municipalities where an open call for applications to join the police service is underway.
The Mission focussed its efforts in the municipalities of Bujanovac, Presevo, Uzice, Valjevo, Pozarevac and Kikinda in order to encourage young people from ethnic Albanian and Roma communities to consider careers in the police service. The outreach sessions, implemented with trainers from the BPTC, provided information on the application process, training programme, and included a discussion about career opportunities in the police service. Each session gathered approximately 40 young people.
The Mission collaborated with local municipal officials, schools, civil society and media representatives in order to secure broad participation and ensure that information about the open call was properly disseminated throughout the region. The open recruitment provides the opportunity for the Serbian Government to address commitments to seek better ethnic representation in government institutions, including the police.