4.5 Mission to Serbia governments and civil society; fostering regional co-operation in combatting transnational and organized crime; developing a holistic approach to dealing with VERLT; enhancing inter-agency co-operation to increase and improve prosecution of corruption cases and economic crimes, including moneylaundering cases; building the capacity of police in cyber forensics and in investigating cybercrime; promoting the OSCE’s comprehensive approach to security sector governance and reform (SSGR); supporting the implementation of the Strategy and Action Plan to Prevent and Suppress Human Trafficking, especially trafficking in women and children; and strengthening the mechanisms responsible for the protection of trafficking victims. Activities Related to General Police Development and Reform Human Resources / Police Management To support the ongoing reforms within the MoI’s human resource management and to contribute to achieving a more representative police service, the Mission implemented the following activities: • From 9 to 16 March, the Mission assisted the MoI in organizing “Open Day” events in 16 police districts across Serbia.1 The events aimed at inviting the public to come to police stations and learn more about the police profession and enrolment into basic police training. Some 30 designated uniformed police officers, trained by the MoI and the Mission to be district recruitment focal points, and representatives of the MoI’s Basic Police Training Centre (BPTC), presented the selection process and employment opportunities to interested citizens, in particular those representing national minorities. With the Mission’s support, the accompanying promotional material was translated into 11 minority languages: Albanian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Hungarian, Roma (two dialects), Romanian, Ruthenian, Slovak and Ukrainian. It was distributed to relevant police districts and the BPTC; • From 25 to 29 June, the Mission assisted the MoI in organizing “Open Day” events in 23 police districts across Serbia. The call for the recruitment of 900 police officers for basic police training was open for one month, from 20 June to 20 July. The call aimed to fill 549 vacant posts in the Belgrade Police District and 351 vacant posts in 22 other police districts across Serbia. During the “Open Day” events, residents were invited to visit local police stations and learn about the police profession and 1 86 These open days were organized in the following 16 police districts: Belgrade, Čačak, Jagodina, Kikinda, Kragujevac, Niš, Novi Sad, Pančevo, Požarevac, Smederevo, Sombor, Sremska Mitrovica, Subotica, Užice, Valjevo and Zaječar. enrolment in basic police training. Some 40 designated police officers, trained by the MoI and the Mission to be district recruitment focal points, as well as representatives of the MoI’s BPTC, presented the selection process and employment opportunities to interested citizens, in particular to those representing national minorities. The Mission provided assistance in designing the information material and translating it into 11 languages of Serbia’s national minorities; • From 12 to 18 September, the Mission, together with the MoI’s BPTC and the Roma Police Officers Association, organized preparation sessions for applicants to the BPTC. As part of the activity, experienced police officers travelled across Serbia to inform aspiring candidates, including members of national minorities, about the selection process and the eligibility criteria to become police officers; • From 21 to 23 December, the Mission, the Vocational Police Association “European Police Officers of Roma Nationality” and the MoI organized a seminar on the representation of national minorities in the police and in the Municipal Safety Councils (MSCs). The event gathered 25 members of the Police Association and the MoI’s Police Directorate. The members of the Police Association were representatives of different national minorities working in the police (Albanian, Bosniak, Bulgarian, Croatian, Egyptian, Hungarian, Macedonian, Roma, Romanian, Slovak and Vlach) who discussed challenges and progress in ensuring the adequate representation of national minorities in the police and in the MSCs along with mechanisms supporting the fulfilment of the rights of members of national minorities. The event identified specific steps to be undertaken in recruiting members of national minorities for police work; • In 2018, the Mission also produced a promotional video about the police service that was translated into eleven minority languages.