Report on the Performance of the Activities of the National Preventive Mechanism for 2019 officers at the border to discourage persons attempting to cross it irregularly. However, there is no record kept of discouragement proceedings, unlike with measures to return migrants (including readmission), since migrants reportedly do not enter Croatian territory, but, having noticed the discouragement measures, return of their own volition deeper into the neighbouring country's territory. Despite deploying 6,500 policemen at the state border and employing technical equipment, according to MoI data, in 2019 the number of irregular migrants in Croatia increased by 59.52% in comparison to 2018. However, complaints by irregular migrants and CSOs and international NGOs reports are coming in from the borders with Serbia and Bosnia describing police conduct towards migrants apprehended inside Croatian territory, ignoring of requests for international protection, and pushbacks over the green border, very often after seizing money and valuables, or accompanied by violence. Thus, during 2019, the Ombudswoman opened 35 cases regarding police conduct towards irregular migrants and seekers of international protection, sometimes even in larger groups. For instance, a complaint by a complainant who was found with his family near the BH border describes how the police ignored his, his wife's and their two children's requests for asylum, took their money and mobile phones, and ordered them back into BH. When he asked to be given back his money, one of the policemen showed his firearm, said he would shoot, and grabbed one of the children by the neck, after which the family decided to return to Bosnia and Herzegovina. The complainant managed to memorize the registration number of the police van and declared that he would be able to recognise the policemen, and upon return to BH, he filed complaints with the (Croatian) Police Directorate, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after which, in agreement with the Police Directorate, his criminal charge was filed at a border crossing. Soon after, he also submitted a complaint to the Ombudswoman, on the basis of which we conducted an investigation at the BPS, which denied that any steps have been taken against the complainant. At the same time, in cooperation with USKOK (Bureau for Combating Corruption and Organized Crime), the Directorate established that police officers with the aforementioned BPS were not connected to the described activities, however, the Directorate subsequently did confirm its activities, but not as the complainant had described them, but as having applied discouragement measures. Considering the fact that the MoI has categorically claimed that records of discouragement are not kept because individuals cannot be identified in the absence of contacts with police officers, it is unclear how in this case they managed to identify the complainant and his family, and why this piece of information was not stated at the very start of the proceedings. In connection to the actions taken by the police upon discovering the migrants after their irregular crossing of the state border, an investigation into the existence of a garage whose characteristics match those of a garage at one of the border police stations where irregular migrants were allegedly held without food, water or a toilet, had to sleep on the concrete floor and were prevented from seeking international protection, is significant. It appears from MoI reports that over the year, migrants were indeed held on two occasions (first a group of eight, and second of 29 members) at 25