POLICE-RELATED ACTIVITIES OF FIELD OPERATIONS SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE Kragujevac Police District, and the third on 3 April in the Nis Police District. These debates continued with three events held in Belgrade on 7, 9, and 16 April aimed at gathering relevant representatives of the government, academia, independent oversight institutions, the international community, and civil society. In May, the Mission provided recommendations to the draft Law on Police. On 2 November, the Mission supported the MoI in initiating a two-month assessment of business processes in the newly established human resources management structure. Two local experts analysed business processes and developed a document that will serve as the basis for developing a software for automating administrative procedures to optimize work processes in the MoI. On 4 June and on 30 November, the civil society coalition prEUgovor1 officially presented their two reports on the progress of Serbia in Chapters 23 and 24. The Mission supported the development of the report as well as its publication to strengthen civil society’s role in monitoring police reform. On 19 November, the Mission supported the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy in organizing a training on monitoring the Action Plan’s goals and measures with regard to Chapter 24. The training targeted civil society organizations that belong to the Sectorial Civic Society Organizations (SEKO) for Justice and Home Affairs Areas network. Civil society organizations learnt about strategic priorities and plans for implementing Chapters 23 and 24 as well as how to include CSOs in monitoring the measures and their impact. Relevant representatives of the MoI, Ministry of Justice and the Serbian Government’s European Integration Office presented their views on the role of civil society in this context. A follow up meeting with local level CSOs was organized in December. From 30 June-1 July, with the aim to assist the MoI in streamlining its police service, the Mission organized a study visit for four representatives of the Serbian MoI and two Mission members to the Croatian MoI in Zagreb. The goal of the visit was to learn from the Croatian experience in reforming human resources management, with special emphasis on issues such as selection, recruitment and performance appraisal systems. On 9 October, the Mission finalized its expert assessment and recommendation on the police internal control system to support the MoI in strengthening its internal oversight and accountability systems. In the three month assessment process, the Mission’s experts examined the organizational structures, complaint management, disciplinary responsibility, ethics, reporting mechanisms on internal control, and future development of preventive work in the internal control system. On 16 October, the Mission provided support to civil society to meet with the Government of Serbia’s Working Group in the Serbian Parliament for negotiations on Chapter 24 with the EU. The meeting was held within the permanent body of Government with representatives from civil society to discuss the accession of Serbia to the EU; this body is called the National Convention on the European Union (NCEU). The Mission supports the co-ordinating efforts of civil society and the government to inform the public on police reform in the context of European integration. Representatives from the government and civil society agreed on civil society’s role in monitoring and evaluating the progress made with regard to Chapter 24. As a result, another thematic meeting of the Working Group for the Action Plan on Chapter 24 was convened on 11 December with the NCEU. 1 The prEUgovor coalition gathers seven CSOs. It was formed to monitor the implementation of policies relating to the accession negotiations between Serbia and the EU, with the emphasis on Chapters 23 and 24. It consists of Anti-trafficking Action (ASTRA), Autonomous Women’s Centre, Belgrade Center for Security Policy, Centre for Applied European Studies, Centre for Investigative Reporting, Group 484 and Transparency Serbia. From 20-22 November, a Working Group composed of seven Roma Police Association (RPA) members and two Police Basic Training Centre representatives finalized the RPA Activity Plan. The Plan and previous RPA activities aim at furthering Roma community members’ integration in the police service. This has received support from the MoI. From 26-29 October, the Mission supported the organization of a seminar to develop a draft plan for 25 police officers from the Roma community, representatives of the RPA, Roma National Minority Council, and CSOs. These activities are part of the Mission’s efforts to further the integration of representatives from minority communities in the police service. Strategic Planning including Threat Assessments Throughout the year, the Mission organized trainings and workshops as well as a WG meeting on the development of the first regional SOCTA by the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia. The purpose of this project was to be proactive in the fight against organized crime through intelligence-led policing and regional strategic planning in the Western Balkans. After the publication of the national SOCTAs, these three countries will start their joint work on the project’s ultimate goal: a regional SOCTA report that will provide a strategic overview of organized crime in South-Eastern Europe. t
From 2-6 February, the Mission implemented the third module of a training programme for 18 analysts from the police services of the three South-Eastern European countries in Budva, Montenegro. The training aimed at 73