POLICE-RELATED ACTIVITIES OF FIELD OPERATIONS SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE On 24 June, the Mission, together with the MoI of Montenegro, UNDP Montenegro, and the Centre for Democratic Transition (CDT), launched a comprehensive SALW Public Awareness and Illicit Weapons Collection Campaign with the slogan “Respect Life – Return Weapons”. The new Law on Arms adopted in March 2015 facilitates the voluntary return or legalization of SALW, and intends to support the MoI’s efforts to collect and resume control over citizen’s illegal possessions of SALW. The EU and Germany provided financial support of the Campaign through an ExB project. On 28 August, the OMiM assisted in the organization of the ”Back to School” campaign in co-operation with the Police Directorate as part of its annual activity to promote road safety among primary school children. The Mission supported the printing of school classroom timetables that contained traffic safety illustrations and emergency numbers (in Montenegrin and Albanian languages). The timetables were subsequently distributed in schools by community and traffic police officers. On 4 September, the Mission posted 10 billboards throughout Montenegro to further promote the campaign’s slogan “Respect Life – Return Weapons”. This initiative is part of the ongoing implementation of the comprehensive SALW Public Awareness and Illicit Weapons Collection Campaign in Montenegro. In co-operation with the MoI, UNDP, and the CDT, who support the implementation of the campaign, the Mission aimed to increase public awareness about the dangers inherent in unsafe weapons and ammunitions as well as about the opportunities to voluntarily return or legalize SALW, which have come with the enactment of the new Law on Arms in March 2015. By October, 356 pieces of SALW, 6,785 rounds of various munitions, 90 explosive devices, and 204 ammunition frames were returned. Specialized Investigations Units / Forensics From May to September, the Mission organized several working visits of Montenegrin forensic experts to Forensic Laboratories in Banja Luka, Republika of Srpska and Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina to support the transfer of knowledge, and to build up the forensic laboratory quality control standards, drugs chemistry and DNA analyses in Montenegro. From 20-22 May, the Mission co-funded the participation of the Montenegrin Forensic Centre’s (MFC) Director and MFC Permanent Representative in the European Network of Forensic Centres (ENFSI) at the 27th ENFSI Annual Meeting in Paris hosted by the Forensic Sciences Institute of the French Gendarmerie (FSIFG). The meeting focused on Best Practice Manuals (BPMs) in forensic science. On 23 June, the OMiM visited the Forensic Centre (FC) in Tirana, Albania, together with the Deputy Head of the Montenegrin National FC and two of its officers, to support the admittance of the Albanian FC as a member of the ENFSI. The Mission will continue its assistance to the FC to enhance co-operation between law enforcement agencies in combating serious and organized crime at the regional level. From 9-11 November, the Mission, in co-operation with the MFC, organized a regional workshop in Danilovgrad for 23 forensic experts from Bosnia and Herzegovina, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Montenegro aimed at exchanging experiences and best practices on enhancing the quality of forensics by aligning them with the international quality standard ISO/IES 17025. This workshop brought forensics experts from non-accredited laboratories together to learn more about the work and practices of the MFC, which holds an ISO 17025 accreditation status and is, therefore, able to provide mentorship to interested non-accredited forensic laboratories on international best practices. The regional workshop was followed by a three day training of the Albanian forensic experts on the MFC’s quality control management, and DNA and drugs analyses. This exercise was funded by the OSCE Presence in Albania. From 8-9 December, the Mission supported a working visit of three Montenegrin forensic experts in DNA, chemistry and quality control to the FC in Belgrade, Serbia. The visit intended to broaden their understanding on DNA, drugs and quality control  methodologies used in Serbia. The development of these methodologies in Montenegro will enable the exchange of forensic evidence between the criminal justice systems of both countries. 67

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