almanac on security sector oversight in the Western Balkans

ance and respect for human rights are internal control bodies and inspectorates. The
most reliable information about improper action by state security actors likely comes
from the apparatus itself (Born and Leigh 2005, p. 26). In that respect, Serbia has been
making slow but steady progress. During more than ten years of democratic transition
almost all security related legislation has been adopted, 120 introducing internal control
mechanisms to all state security actors. The laws have granted enough power for internal
control bodies to effectively conduct their duties. These bodies have the right to
access premises and files, collect, maintain, and publish information; take statements
from employees, injured parties and witnesses. Citizens and security employees have
channels for lodging complaints.
These legal changes have not been followed by implementation and practice of internal
control bodies is not satisfactory, even though some have been functioning a
while. For example from 2006 to 2010, the Internal Affairs Sector of the Police (IASP)
received and processed more than thirteen thousand petitions and other documents
containing complaints against police for abuse of power, but failed to hold accountable
officers from the middle and higher ranks. In the words of the Head of the Internal
Affairs Sector, Dragoljub Radović: “Senior police officers haven’t been under
the scrutiny of internal control up until recently. It’s now different, since for the first
time accountability of senior police has been considered seriously. This is a great step
forward in the work of Internal Affairs Sector, although results are yet to be noted.” 121
Recent scandals (see Box 1) show the power of these oversight bodies is limited and
that ‘untouchable’ individuals difficult to hold accountable for their acts still exist in
the police. 122
There are two possible explanations for this. First, the 2005 Law on Police has flaws:
For example, the Minister of Interior has the right to take cases which are processed
by the Internal Affairs Sector and to hand those over to another body, if he concludes
that another body would better handle the matter. This hampers the autonomy of
the Internal Affairs Sector (and by implication the effectiveness of all internal control
mechanisms). Second, the Internal Affairs Sector is poorly resourced. According to MoI
information, the Internal Affairs Sector has filled only sixty-eight percent of its roster
and has a deficiency of equipment and space. A problem arises from inadequate IASP
premises. Because many regional centres have only one office, there are no facilities
for conducting interviews and citizens might need to file a complaint against a police
officer in the work place of the accused.
120 Law on private security has been missing for more than seventeen years, leaving three thousand
private security companies which employ between forty and sixty thousand people out of effective control
of state institutions. For more on obstacles to the adoption of Law on private Security see: Predrag
Petrović, “Reserved Domains as Obstacles to Normative Regulation of Private Security Sector in Serbia,”
Working Document No. 1 (2011).
121 Unutrašnja kontrola zavodi red u MUP-u [Internal control brings order in to Ministry of Interior], 26
September 2010, Politika online: http://www.politika.rs/rubrike/Hronika/Unutrasnja-kontrola-zavodired-u-MUP-u.lt.html
(unofficial translation)
122 Istraga o tajnim uređajima generala kasnila zbog svađe [Investigation on tapping was overdue
because of bickering], Blic, internet: http://www.blic.rs/Vesti/Hronika/249892/Istraga-o-tajnim---uredjajima-generala-kasnila--zbog-svadje
[10 August 2011].
186