Mission MAG 30.qxp - European Union Police Mission in Bosnia ...

12 November 2007 nº30
In Focus
These cars may look like dump, but they are precious sources of evidence
Dump or evidence?
About 3,000 cars are currently stored on
police premises throughout BiH. They have
been confiscated or seized and are waiting
for a 'fair trial'. Some of them - among
which the most expensive brands you can
find on the market - have been there for four
or five years; some for even longer.
Some of them - among which the most
expensive brands you can find on the market
- have been there for four or five years;
some for even longer.
"This huge number of cars which are rotting
on police premises damages the image
of BiH," says Jean-Michel De Souza, Head
of EUPM's Inspection Team. "It is important
that we find legal and technical solutions
to this problem."
The criminal procedure codes of both the
Federation and the Republika Sprska state
quite clearly that goods that are seized for
evidential purposes should be kept in a safe
place. Henceforth, the state is liable for any
damages incurred. And considering the conditions
in which these 3,000 cars have been
stored over the last years, huge sums of
money are at stake.
"Imagine what would happen if insurance
companies start to claim their money back.
The state could then have million euros of
European Union Police Mission
debt," says Martin Knieling, a car crime
expert for EUPM's Inspection Team. "These
cars represent huge sums of money which
shouldn't just be thrown out of the window."
But why exactly does it take so long to
process these confiscated cars and contact
their owners?
Besides a general lack of cooperation
between police and prosecutors, Knieling,
who has been working on this case for five
months now, noticed that there is also a lack
of training. Some police officers have only
got a very basic understanding of vehicle
identification techniques. Most of the time,
they just check the car's documents and its
Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). If that
is negative, they merely abandon their
searches.
"But there is a lot more to car identification
than that," explains Knieling. As a matter
of fact, a vehicle can also be identified
through the number of its radio, its engine,
its air-conditioning system and gearbox or
even, for the most recent amongst them,
through its keys.
EUPM offers all its support and assistance
for the training of the members of car
crime units throughout the country.
By Ann Vaessen
Editorial
The European Union
(EU) has supported Bosnia
and Herzegovina
(BiH) in its transformation
from a post-war
country dependent on
international aid to an
emerging democracy
and a thriving economy
with the status of a
potential EU candidate
Dimitris Kourkoulas
country. The EU has facilitated this process with
ample financial assistance, amounting to more
than 2.7 billion euros since 1991, and has committed
to continue to do so.
With this support, BiH has made a step forward
in its relationship with the EU, holding EU
integration as its primary political objective. This
BiH commitment has been recognised by the
EU, and has been fostered through the
Stabilisation and Association process, including
the opening and the conclusion of technical
talks for a Stabilisation and Association Agreement
(SAA). Yet, further EU integration progress
now depends solely on the ability of the
BiH political leadership to advance key reforms,
primarily the police reform. Technical support of
the EUPM has been substantial in facilitating
attempts to date to reach progress in police
reform. Nevertheless, the sustained lack of political
compromise threatens to hinder the European
perspective of BiH and to put BiH far
behind the rest of the region in the EU integration
process.
With a continued impasse, all benefits from
the contractual relationship with the EU will be
deferred indefinitely. Forgone opportunities to
progress today will thus come at a cost to all
BiH citizens. BiH will lag the region in the implementation
of the necessary reforms foreseen in
the SAA, in tapping the EU structural funds, in
keeping up with the neighbours in the chase for
foreign investments, and in securing a more liberal
movement of individuals in the nearer
future. All this will ultimately worsen the living
standard and will work against the general interests
of BiH citizens.
BiH political leaders owe it to their constituents
to take the necessary steps without further
delay so as to ensure that BiH moves speedily
on the path to a brighter, European future,
which has no alternative. Anything else will further
aggravate the country's political stabilisation
and its prompt transition into a functioning
free market economy.
By Ambassador Dimitris Kourkoulas,
Head of the Delegation of the European
Commission to BiH
www.eupm.org 1

ZOOM on UN Security Staff
Your security is in good hands
"So far, the only intruders who have
managed to breach the security were
some stray cats and dogs," says
Nebojsa Roncevic, the Security Team
Leader.
The 30 security guards of the
United Nations House in Sarajevo
work around the clock to protect the
EU Police Mission and other international
organizations housed in the
building. They are deployed at all the
access- and critical surveillance
points of the compound to ensure the
full protection of the United Nations
House's staff and property.
Besides the above-mentioned anecdotic
'intruders' there has never been
any major incident: "We have only had
to deal with minor safety or security
incidents and they were all handled by
the security with success," says Jose Da
Costa Sousa, EUPM's Security Adviser,
proudly. "The biggest success story
of the Security Unit is that it
has had zero significant incidents
so far."
Building security management
is coordinated by the
EUPM Security Adviser,
through the Security Guard
Commander and, whenever necessary,
directly with the Building Manager,
or with the other international
organizations' Security Officers.
Team spirit, both within the unit and
"The biggest
success story of the
Security Unit is that
it has had zero
significant incidents
so far."
with other key security actors in the
building, is crucial to ensure 652 people's
safety. Hence, Da Costa Sousa regularly
invites all 'inhabitants' of the
building to a Security Sub-
Committee (SSC) to coordinate
security issues. Whenever
necessary, these issues
are taken to the Building
Management.
Safeguarding everybody's
security is a huge responsibility
which demands constant vigilance.
Hence Da Costa regularly pays unexpected
and random visits to his team,
whether on week-ends, holidays or in
the middle of the night.
Moreover, there is a permanent and
continuous phone liaison amongst the
Guard Commander, its Shift Leaders
and the Security Adviser. "If necessary,
I ensure the liaison with both the EUPM
and the UN Building security chains of
command," adds Da Costa Sousa.
Around the clock and with a smile
Whenever you go back to the UN
House to pick up the car keys you forgot
on your desk - whether it is Christmas,
Bajram or simply the middle of the
night - somebody is there to welcome
you with a smile.
"My main motivation is to ensure the
security of the international organisations
that serve my own country,"
explains Mirsad Zuban,
Security Unit Guard
Commander. "I am
grateful to work
with this very well
structured and technically
updated security
system."
"My main
motivation is to
ensure the security
of the international
organizations that
serve my own
country."
Shift work is impossible without a
great team spirit: "The Security Unit has
been working quite well as a team,
mainly due to each member's professionalism,
sense of responsibility and longstanding
experience," says Da Costa.
The members of the Security Unit
have a great sense of humour and a
2
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European Union Police Mission

unique way to measure their success.
They compare themselves to the referees
in football matches, who are "doing
a good job when no one even realizes
that they are on the ground."
Nevertheless, the UN Security Guards
are also the 'mirror' of each and every
international organization which has its
Headquarters at the UN House. Whoever
enters through either the pedestrian
or vehicle entrance - no matter what
kind of tricks the Weatherman is playing
- gets a warm welcome.
"My strongest motivation is to constantly
meet new people at the reception
and deal with their requests
as efficiently as I can,"
says Dzenana Erbez,
who combines security
and public relations at
the UN House's main
entrance.
Amongst numerous other
"We know we
are doing a good
job when no one even
realizes that they
are on the
ground."
anecdotes, she particularly recalls the
case of a lady who would come to the
reception quite regularly, "warning the
EU Police Mission about invisible Al
Qaeda members amongst the population
who allegedly terrorise a certain ethnic
group in a particular area."
Nedzad Veledarevic, her colleague
and Day Shift Team Leader, recalls the
story of a Bosnian guy who asked
EUPM "to help him get American citizenship
because he could not identify
with any of the three constituent peoples
of Bosnia and Herzegovina."
Despite these anecdotes, their job is
all but easy and requires physical
strength, discipline and the ability to
work under pressure. Hence each of our
security guards has undergone extensive
training in surveillance, first aid and
fire fighting techniques.
They are also all trained in terrorism
awareness and know how to search
vehicles against explosives, as well
as how to deal with bomb and biochemical
threats.
Each member of the team is clear
from any war or common crimes and
has a long-standing experience of security
matters. Most of them have been
working since the late 90's, first for the
UN or EUMM Security and later for the
Anthrax for Christmas
Funny security stories happen from time to time.
Despite all editorial constraints, we could not help
but share this one with you!
Once upon a time, just before Christmas time,
EUPM's mail room called Security because they
had received two suspicious letters addressed to
both the Head and Deputy Head of Mission. The
day then took on a crazy twist…
10:00 AM: A kind of 'powder' has been discovered
inside each envelope. Fearing that it may be
'anthrax', the office area and all people who had been
in contact with the envelopes were put in quarantine.
11:00 AM: The Sarajevo police show up, without
proper clothing and equipment. They leave the UN
House's premises without further ado.
2 P.M: A delegation chaired by a high-ranking prosecutor
shows up to say that they do not have the
expertise, or the appropriate material, to deal with
the case.
Nejbosa Roncevic in the 'Security Central'
UN Building Security.
And considering that their leader, Da
Costa Sousa, a senior police officer with
37 years experience, has served as the
Portuguese President's Personal Security
Adviser and Chief Security Officer,
I think we can rest assured that our
security is in good hands!
By Asim Sahinpasic
Dzenana Erbez combines security
with public relations
3 P.M: EUPM calls upon SFOR. They both have qualified
personnel and the necessary equipment to face
biochemical threats. However, it takes them five
hours to make a decision. Eventually, the OHR informs
the Security of the UN House that SFOR will
not respond to the incident themselves, but that they
can provide the necessary protection clothes and
material to collect and seal the envelopes in proper
containers.
9 P.M: The EUPM SFOR Liaison Officer arrives with
all above-mentioned material, seals both envelopes
in a proper container and submits them to the
Sarajevo police for further analysis.
And, believe it or not, the suspected anthrax turned
out to be some gold glitter that had fallen off a fancy
Season Greetings card. Had the sender known that
his card would mobilise the EUPM, SFOR, OHR and
the Sarajevo police all at once!
Luckily, the story had a happy ending, with SFOR
training some security guards to deal with such
types of threats and supplying four sets of protection
clothing, as well as containers and special tape. Rest
assured, we are now prepared against any type of
anthrax scare!!
European Union Police Mission www.eupm.org 3

Media activities
EUPM hosts press trip for EU jounalists
In light of its extension, the EU
Police Mission will host 15 journalists
from across the European Union
from 11 to 16 November.
In a wish to bring Bosnia and
Herzegovina back to the spotlight of
international and especially EU media,
the visit will present our activities
and highlight achievements
regarding security-related topics covered
by our mandate.
EUPM's Press and Public Information
Department organised a
comprehensive programme covering
issues such as terrorism, organised
crime, cross-border cooperation on
human smuggling and relations
between police and prosecutors.
The journalists will be provided
with a series of presentations by
experts in the domains of crisis management,
war crimes investigations,
international organised crime, immigration,
smuggling, counterfeiting,
border control and terrorism.
In order to get a clear picture of
how the EU actors coordinate their
crisis management peace-making
and institution-building efforts in
Bosnia and Herzegovina, the journalists
will meet with Miroslav Lajcak,
the High Representative and EU
Special Representative, Admiral
Hans-Jochen Witthauer, EUFOR
Commander and Ambassador Dimitris
Kourkoulas, Head of the EC Delegation.
They will also visit several law enforcement
agencies throughout the
country, such as SIPA's Special
Support Unit Base, the Public Security
Centre in East Sarajevo/Pale,
the Sarajevo Canton Ministry of
Interior, the Sarajevo Canton Prosecutor's
Office, the Mostar Ministry
of Interior, the Public Security
Centre in Trebinje (CHEK TYPO)
and a Border Police Station in the
vicinity of Trebinje to get familiar
with the Balkan route.
In Focus: BIH PROGRESS REPORT 2007
BiH is underperforming in EU accession process
"From Brussels, I must say we regard the recent slowdown in
the reform process in Bosnia and Herzegovina with certain anxiety,"
said Jan Truszczynski, Deputy Director of the European
Commission's Directorate-General for Enlargement, upon handing
over the European Commission's Progress Report for Bosnia
and Herzegovina to the Council of Ministers on 06 November.
Besides full cooperation with the International Criminal
Tribunal for former-Yugoslavia (ICTY) and further reform
efforts regarding public broadcasting and administration, police
reform tops the agenda.
Jan Truszczynski, Deputy Director of the European Commission's
Directorate-General for Enlargement
While welcoming the recent 'Mostar Declaration', as it shows
the commitment of six leaders from three constituent peoples
towards police reform and confirms the three key principles and
two laws on police, Truszczynski insisted that "significant
progress regarding police reform is of utmost importance, not
just because Brussels wants it, but because it is in the interest of
BiH citizens."
"The country was almost there a while ago, it shouldn't take
superhuman efforts to put the process back on track," he said.
Besides police reform, the Progress Report also identifies an
underperformance of BiH regarding constitutional reform and
the establishment of a single economic space.
More work is also needed with regard to the free movement of
goods, persons and services, support to Small and Middle-Sized
Enterprises (SMEs), employment policies, social policies, energy,
environment protection and statistics.
Despite the need to gain political momentum and boost reform
processes, Truszczynski welcomed certain bright spots or success
stories in the areas of competition, education, transport and
asylum.
He also emphasised that "Progress Reports are meant to help
countries get closer to the EU, not to point fingers."
"It is up to the politicians whether or not to accept our help,"
he concluded. "There are capable politicians in BiH and there is
no reason whatsoever why this country cannot manage to boost
its reform processes."
By Ann Vaessen
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European Union Police Mission

Newsbrief
"Srebrenica should be multi-ethnic again"
A conference for potential investors in the Srebrenica municipality
was hosted by the Republika Srpska on 6 November at
Hotel Bistrica, in Jahorina.
"One of the main vows we can give to the victims of the genocide
is the recovery of Srebrenica's economy," said Clifford
Bond, Special Envoy for Srebrenica. "We should create the conditions
for sustainable return and make sure that the number of
returnees increases. Srebrenica should be multiethnic again."
The three main topics of the conference were: Srebrenica,
from reconstruction to self-sustainable development; business
environment and how to prompt investments; and, last but not
least, investment possibilities.
The economic situation in the area, which remained underdeveloped
after the war, is of a great importance for Bosnia and
Herzegovina, concluded the international representatives, businessmen
and BiH officials who participated in the conference.
The conference was supported by all relevant regional, national
and international stakeholders, from the BiH authorities to the
Office of the High Representative, the European Commission,
the United Nations' Development Programme (UNDP), as well
as several non-governmental organizations.
As for the security situation in the region, which is still tense,
the EU Police Mission is watching it carefully and has established
a Security Centre in which representatives of the municipality,
the returnee community and law enforcement agencies
meet regularly to discuss security issues.
Newsbrief
First row, from left to right: Major Fred van der Graaf, Head Regional Police Administration,
Analore Roelofs, Police Commissioner Regional Police Administration, Brigadier General
Vincenzo Coppola, Head of EUPM, Ari Sarjanen, Deputy Head of EUPM.
Second row, from left to right: Hans Hoogeboom, Chief Criminal Investigations Regional
Police Administration, Patricia Zorko, Chief DINPOL, Joop Neijenhuijzen, Albert Roskam and
Willem Pennings.
The Netherlands to
continue supporting EUPM
An official delegation of The Netherlands, more precisely
from the North and East Gelderland Police Region, paid a visit
to the EU Police Mission on 2 November.
They met with Head of Mission Brigadier General Vincenzo
Coppola, Deputy Head of Mission Ari Sarjanen and members of
EUPM's Dutch Delegation to discuss the call for contribution
for next year, the mission's future priorities and how these relate
to the prospective mission in Kosovo.
"We are very satisfied with this open and honest discussion,"
said Major Fred van der Graaf, Head of the Regional Police
Administration and Member of the Dutch National Assembly.
"This gave us a good impression of EUPM's significant contribution
to the stability in the region."
The Delegation congratulated the members of EUPM's Dutch
contingent and expressed their intention to contribute the same
amount of staff next year.
Newsbrief
EUPM links BiH to EUROPOL
There is still no operational agreement between BiH and
EUROPOL. The EU Police Mission plays a crucial mentoring
role in bringing both parties closer to each other.
"Because there is no such agreement between BiH and EURO-
POL, liaison officers are a key channel to exchange information,"
explains Rinas Bendzius, EUPM's Coordinator for International
Cooperation.
But that channel should not be abused, and BiH is hence working
hard towards an operation agreement with EUROPOL. A BiH
national point of contact has been appointed and a team of BiH
officials has recently been trained at the EUROPOL Headquarters
in The Hague.
A road map has been established and EUPM will offer its full
support for its swift implementation. Hence, Bendzius and Neil
Tuffrey, EUPM's Senior Immigration Adviser, both traveled to
Zagreb on 30 October to offer their input to the six-monthly EU
Lead Nations Liaison Officers' conference.
Hosted by the Portuguese EU Presidency, the conference gathered
all EU actors in the fight against organized crime in the
Western Balkans, from representatives of the European
Commission to the Council of the EU, EUROPOL, FRONTEX
and the EU Planning Team for Kosovo.
European Union Police Mission www.eupm.org 5

Profile: Mico Letic, Head of Department for Juvenile Delinquency of the Ministry of Interior of the Sarajevo Canton
"Not a single Ministry has joined us in the
A recent shooting in a secondary
school in Sarajevo, in which a 16-yearold
boy was seriously injured, brought
the issue of juvenile delinquency back
to the spotlight. Yet, according to Mico
Letic, the Head of the Department for
Juvenile Delinquency of the Ministry of
Interior of the Sarajevo Canton, there
is no coordinated action in Bosnia and
Herzegovina.
There is no proper understanding of juvenile
delinquency in BiH, and hence no
appropriate response, claims Letic. When
translated literally, the name of his Department
is 'Special Purposes' and encompasses
juvenile delinquency, family violence,
human trafficking and prostitution.
Twelve police officers work in the
Department and ten others work as 'contact
points' in each of the Canton's five
Administrations.
According to Letic, the answer to juvenile
delinquency is two-fold: prevention
on the one hand, and rehabilitation on the
other: "It is crucial to act preventively in
order to avoid that certain young people
become part of the vicious circle of
violence, as well as to provide
appropriate re-socialization
programmes for the children
who commit crimes at an
early age."
Neither prevention nor resocialisation
programmes are
being systematically implemented
in BiH. As for the Sarajevo Canton,
the police are still alone in their efforts:
"As these young
individuals often
feel betrayed by their
parents and society,
we might be the last
step between them
and the abyss."
"Despite our appeals for actions, not a
single Ministry has joined us in our
efforts to fight the juvenile delinquency
phenomenon."
Last year the Sarajevo Canton police
visited 138 schools and reached out to
5,000 primary and secondary school students,
their parents and educators about
the situations that may lead to juvenile
delinquency.
"We have an obligation to make young
people think about better life choices,"
says Letic.
A decisive first encounter
Juvenile delinquents' first contact with
the police is crucial: "If our approach is
inappropriate, we face the danger of turning
them into criminals for the many
years to come," says Letic. "As
these young individuals often
feel betrayed by their parents
and society, we might be the
last step between them and
the abyss."
That is why the first step
upon the establishment of
Letic' Department was
to provide both general
and specialized education
to police officers dealing
with juvenile delinquency.
"It is of utmost importance
that each of our police officers
is able to respond to young people's
demands," says Letic. "Thus we
trained special interviewing techniques
There is an
alarming shortage of
re-socialisation centres
in BiH. Combined with
poverty and social
exclusion, this makes
minors go back to a
deviant behaviour.
Mico Letic has turned into the standard bearer
of the fight against juvenile delinquency in
Bosnia and Herzegovina
and other psychological skills to each
member of our staff."
The second step was to set up a special
interview room. With the support of the
UK Embassy, the department created
a 'feeling of home', with a
television set, a radio, toys,
juices and chocolates.
Although there is still a
lot of room for progress -
Letic' department is the
only one of its kind throughout
the country, juvenile delinquency
has decreased by 11
percent since 2003 in the Sarajevo
Canton.
Only one re-socialisation centre
for the whole of BiH
Tailor-made re-socialisation programmes
are crucial to bring juvenile first-time
offenders on the right track, but there is an
alarming shortage of centres providing
such programmes in Bosnia and
Herzegovina. Combined with poverty and
social exclusion, this makes minors go
back to a deviant behaviour: "This is the
unfortunate result of our inability to provide
juvenile delinquents with a proper
and complete re-socialization programme."
Moreover, the country does not have
juvenile correction facilities, which
makes the execution of verdicts impossible.
Hence, juvenile delinquents are sent
to Centres for Social Care. However,
these centres cannot offer appropriate
treatment, since they lack financial means
and personnel.
"If you look at the number of multiple
offenders, you immediately realise that
these social centres do not offer an effective
response," explains Letic. "We some-
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fight against juvenile delinquency"
"For the same offence,
a juvenile delinquent
from Sarajevo would be
sentenced to 20 days in a
juvenile correction facility,
while somebody in the
Republika Srpska would
be sentenced to one year
of imprisonment."
times get to see one person commit from
200 to 300 criminal acts of the same kind
each year."
The first and only re-socialisation institute
for juvenile delinquents of the country
was opened this year in Vogosca, near
Sarajevo. It employs a team of psychologists,
social and medical workers who
design individual re-socialisation programmes
according to each juvenile
delinquent's psycho-social characteristics.
Depending on the severity of the crime,
the juvenile's character, as well as their
emotional and family situation, programmes
range from 20 full days of intensive
treatment in the centre to a few hours
of daily treatment for a month.
Besides the lack of centres, Letic' main
concern is that the average age of juvenile
delinquency is rapidly decreasing. This
year, the Sarajevo Canton police caught
53 delinquents who were below 14 years
of age, whereas last year only 14
were caught: "This is an alarming
trend to which we must
find a response."
Other towns, such as
Banja Luka, Mostar, and
Tuzla, have contacted the
Vogosca centre to observe
its methods. The centre
could hence become a blueprint
for other centres to come.
"This is an encouraging sign,"
says Letic. "We hence offer all our assistance
to facilitate meetings amongst all
actors in the fight against juvenile delinquency."
The nation-wide strategy against juvenile
delinquency, to which Letic actively
contributed, offers another glimpse
of hope, as it should soon ensure equal
treatment of juvenile delinquents
throughout the country: "So
far, a juvenile delinquent
from Sarajevo would be
sentenced to 20 days in a
juvenile correction facility,
while somebody in
the Republika Srpska
would be sentenced to
one year of imprisonment
for the same offence or vice
versa," explains Letic.
The strategy was adopted by the Council
of Ministers in 2006 and is in its implementation
stage.
By Monja Koluder
"Use your own head"
In cooperation with the EUPM's Press and Public
Information Department, the Sarajevo Canton is currently
implementing an awareness campaign.
"We provided pupils with educational material,
held a number of radio and TV shows, as well as
public debates. And we won't stop," says Mico Letic.
He was positively surprised with the public's participation,
yet disappointed about the lack of commitment
of BiH authorities: "It is disgraceful that the
state and canton did not recognize the need for such
a campaign," he said. "I expect the Ministry of Education,
for instance, to react, accept our invitation
and get on board."
Youngsters in conflict with the law.
"It's cool to learn. Get advice from your police."
European Union Police Mission www.eupm.org 7

Newcomers
The mission gives a warm welcome to the following colleagues who have
recently arrived as part of the Austrian, French, Romanian, Slovak and British contingents!
AUSTRIA
Wilhelm Ernst Horvath has recently joined
the Regional Office in Mostar as a Crime
Adviser. He is a police officer with 23 years
experience who started his career as a
patrol officer in Vienna. After six years, he
attended the Investigators Academy in
Vienna and was promoted to Detective
Sergeant, upon which he worked for the
Serious Crime Squad in Vienna for four
years. In 1995 he joined the Anti-Organised Crime Unit at the
Ministry of Interior and became the Deputy Head of that Unit in
2006. Just before joining EUPM he worked as an Expert for
Analytical Work Files regarding Organised Crime Cases. This is not
Wilhelm's first mission, as he worked with UNMIK in Kosovo from
2001 to 2002, first as a Field Adviser, then as a War Crimes
Investigators and eventually for the Close Protection/Special
Operations Unit.
FRANCE
Guy Baumstark has recently joined the
Criminal Justice Interface Unit (CJIU) at
the Sarajevo Headquarters. He is 44 years
old and has 25 years of service first in the
army and then in the French National Gendarmerie.
He has successively served in the
Mobile Gendarmerie (anti riot unit), maintaining
public order and carrying out antiorganized
crime and anti-terrorist operations
in France its overseas territories. Upon completing the special
officer's law course of the Gendarmerie's Officers College, he
joined the Departmental Gendarmerie, where he was in charge of
criminal and administrative investigations. Before eventually joining
the International Operations Department of the National
Gendarmerie, he was a Regional Commander in the Briançon district.
Guy has participated in various other missions all around the
globe, namely in Georgia, Russia, Albania and Kosovo. His wife
and son live in the French Alps, in Briançon, nearby Italy. In his
free time, Guy likes to bike, climb and ski.
Eric Legrand has recently joined SIPA
Tuzla as a Crime Adviser. He has 23 years
police experience, having worked mainly in
investigative and managerial positions.
This is his first mission with the EUPM, but
his third in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He
was posted in Kiseljak and Sarajevo for the
United Nations' International Police
Recipee
'Tufahije'
Ingredients:
- 6 apples (sourish, or sour; not sweet)
- 400 ml water
- 1 lemon
- 400 g sugar
- 150 g ground walnuts
- 1 tbsp. milk
- 1 tbsp. sugar
Garnish (optional):
- Whipped cream
- 6 candied cherries
Taskforce (IPTF) in 1996-1997, and in Gradiska in 2000. From
2002 to 2003, he worked in The Netherlands in a special anti-drug
trafficking team. Eric is married, with two daughters and a son.
ROMANIA
Mirel Dragos Bragaru has just joined the
Regional Office in Banja Luka as a Crime
Adviser. Before joining us, he was the Head
of Intelligence of the Giurgiu Trident Office,
a joint taskforce coordinating the work of
the police, the Border Police and the Customs
Office. Mirel has a Master's Degree in
Law and specialised in terrorism and public
security. He has also recently completed a
programme on terrorism and security studies at the Marshall
European Centre for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
in Germany. This is not his first mission, as he spent two years as
a Chief of investigation in Globocica with UNMIK from 2004 to
2006 and a year as the Border Police Coordinator for the Northeast
region with UNMBIH from 2001 to 2002. Mirel is married, with a
12-year-old daughter.
Argentin Grossu has recently joined the
Regional Office in Tuzla as a Crime
Adviser. He is a police officer with 24 years
experience, mainly in crime investigations.
He used to be the Chief of the Metropolitan
Crime Investigation Unit in Bucharest,
worked with the Metropolitan Internal
Investigations and Inspection Unit in
Bucharest and also as a trainer at the Centre
for Postgraduate Studies of the Romanian Ministry of Interior and
Administrative Reform. Argentin worked in three UN peace-keeping
missions, first in BiH, as a 'local police adviser' in the Doboj
region from 1998 to 2000 and then twice in Kosovo as the Chief
of the Investigations Unit in Orahovac from 2001 to 2003 and
Chief of the Orahovac Monitoring Unit from 2004 to 2006.
Argentin is married, without children.
SLOVAK REPUBLIC
By Sanela Osmanovic
Elena Benkova joined the Sarajevo
Regional Office as a Crime Adviser on 10
October. This is her first mission. Back in
the Slovak Republic she used to work as a
Crime Investigator focusing on financial
crime. However, for the last three years, she
has worked as a Liaison Officer. Before joining
the police she graduated in public economy
and state administration at the University of Matej Bel and
worked for a foreign company for some time. Elena is single and
likes hitchhiking, biking and inline skating.
UNITED KINGDOM
Ann Lansdown joined the Ministry Team at
Tuzla on 29 October as a Crime Adviser.
She has worked for the Metropolitan Police
Service in London for 11 years as a
Detective Sergeant in the Criminal Investigations
Department (CID) with special
focus on forensic evidence. Prior to that,
she worked on a murder investigation team.
This is her first mission. In free time, Ann
enjoys walking, cycling, cooking and meeting up with family and
friends. Hopefully they will come and visit her in Bosnia and
Herzegovina.
Ravern Stevens joined EUPM on the 1
October as Team Leader for Operation
Support in EUPM SIPA. He was born in
Chiswick, London, and training in estate
management and surveying for three years,
he looked around for a more exciting and
adventurous career. He joined the
Metropolitan Police in August 1986 and
was posted as a constable to the Richmond
Police Station in South-West London. Having completed two years
in uniform he joined the Borough Crime Squad, investigating into
numerous murders and kidnappings. In 1993 he was posted to the
Area Major Investigation Teams which managed and investigated
all murders in South-West London. After spending some time at
the Hammersmith and Brixton Police Stations in Lambeth as a
Detective Sergeant, he was promoted to Detective Inspector and
put in charge of a proactive Robbery, Burglary and Drugs Squad.
In 2002 he was posted to Scotland Yard to write and deliver the
Home Objective on the targeting of Persistent Offenders. In 2003
he was promoted to Detective Chief Inspector and was posted to
the Directorate of Professional Standards (Internal Affairs Unit).
Ravern is divorced and has an 11-year-old son called Zackary. His
hobbies include going to the gym, playing badminton and socializing.
Preparation:
Peel and core apples. Boil water, sugar and
sliced lemon. Place apples in the boiling, syrupy
mass (called agda). Cook apples until they become
tender but still firm, for about 15 minutes - you will easily notice when they are done as they
will change colour, become pale. Carefully take out the apples and leave them to cool. Keep
agda.
Mix ground walnuts, a tablespoon of sugar, and a tablespoon of milk. Cook until you get
a firm but even mass (usually this is achieved by just stirring it on the stove for a minute). If
needed, add more milk.
Fill cooled apples with this mixture. Pour syrup over them and let cool.
Garnish with whipped cream and candied cherries before serving.
You can make variations as desired: add raisins to the filling, make the filling
with walnuts and heavy cream, take filled apples out of agda and pour
melted chocolate over them, than garnish with crushed walnuts, etc… Enjoy!
The Mission Mag is produced by the EUPM PRESS AND PUBLIC INFORMATION DEPARTMENT (PPID)
Editor-in-Chief: Kilian Wahl, e-mail: kwahl@eupm.org, phone: + 387 33 752 766, fax: + 387 33 752 759
Editor: Ann Vaessen, e-mail: avaessen@eupm.org, phone: +387 33 752 760, fax: +387 33 752 759