almanac on security sector oversight in the Western Balkans

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4.2. Sector for Internal Control and Professional Standards
Since the police are the only security actor that enjoys a wide range of means of coercion,
the higher likelihood for human rights infringement requires an extra layer of
oversight. The Sector for Internal Control and Professional Standards (SICPS) acts as a
separate unit within MoI. It is directly subordinate and accountable to the minister,
thus ensuring its independence. The SICPS is tasked to monitor and act on offences by
ministry employees such as violation of human rights, corruption, disrespect of working
hours etc.
Every citizen may submit complaints regarding misconduct by the police which obliges
the SICPS to initiate an investigation no later than thirty days from the filing. The MoI
is obliged to inform the citizen about the outcome of an investigation and the actions
that have been taken to process the complaint. Ministry employees are requested to
fully cooperate with the SICPS, which also means giving them access to classified information.
Throughout the years there has been an increase of the competences of this
internal controlling mechanism.
In 2010, the SICPS acted on one thousand two hundred and sixty-one cases out of
which eight hundred and forty-one were initiated by citizens and the rest by civil society
organisations, the Ombudsman and other institutions (Ibid.). Part of the cases they
have acted on come from their own findings, reports from the media, MoI initiatives
etc. Apart from receiving complaints, the SCIPS is also entitled to make unannounced
control visits in different departments of the MoI. In 2010 it performed twenty-one
controls and found different irregularities, including police officers consuming alcohol
on duty, violation of working hours, etc. In 2010, the SICPS forwarded two hundred
and nineteen cases to the disciplinary commission within the ministry. This resulted
in nine suspensions of police officers. Most of the other cases ended up with written
warnings. Additionally, cases where the SICPS noticed possible criminal offences were
forwarded to the public prosecutor, who filed criminal charges against twenty-nine
employees from the Ministry of Interior, most of whom were allowed to use police
authorisations. The SICPS has the tools to perform its oversight and control responsibilities,
as the statistics provided above show, and displays satisfactory results when it
comes to sanctioning police for misdemeanours.
Regarding human rights, however, there have been reports of the SICPS refusing to
act (Utrinski Vesnik, 2009). The SICPS has been criticised often, especially by civil society
and international organisations. Throughout the years there have been a number
of examples of police brutality (Balkan Insight, 2011). Some civil society representatives
are vocal in expressing their concern about the effectiveness and the position of
this body under the hierarchy of the MoI and suggest creating an independent civilian
body completely outside of MoI authority (Efremov, 2011). In many cases where it is
clear police used excessive authority, the SICPS has shown partiality by saying no clear
evidence was found showcasing police excess. The Ombudsman also believes that the