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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Citizens’ trust in police greatest achievement of interior ministry in 2009

Belgrade, 30 December 2009

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic today said that his Ministry’s greatest achievement in 2009 is the increased trust placed in the police by Serbian citizens.

Author: Fonet

Speaking about the Interior Ministry’s work in 2009 at a press conference, Dacic said that without this trust the police cannot perform their task efficiently, reiterating that the police should be at the service of citizens.

He said that this year the percentage of severest crimes solved was increased, adding that when it comes to narcotics and organised crime, as many as 28 drug dealing groups consisting of 133 members were uncovered, of whom 118 were arrested.

The Minister stressed that in 11 months 1.25 tonnes of drugs were seized in Serbia, noting that Serbia’s security system showed that this country is a reliable partner in regional and international frameworks and a factor for stability and peace in the region.

Dacic noted that, based on information provided by the Serbian police, in the past 18 months 1.2 tonnes of cocaine were seized abroad.

He also recalled that the Serbian Security and Intelligence Agency took part in the confiscation of more than two tonnes of cocaine in international waters.

As for organised financial crime, he stressed that seven organised criminal groups with 111 members were uncovered, of whom 86 were arrested, adding that considerable results were also achieved in the fight against forgery.

The Deputy Prime Minister said that compared to 2008, the percentage of solved murder cases increased from 76% to 80%, manslaughter from 75% to 85%, rapes from 79% to 88%, attempted rapes from 78% to 80% and robberies from 69% to 72%.

Dacic said that former convicts who return to their old way again pose a great problem for Serbia. This is caused by a mild penal code, which means we have to make it stricter, he added.

A total of 143 people suspected of trafficking in human beings were arrested this year, Dacic said, noting that the greatest success was the arrest of 14 members of a criminal group which managed to smuggle 53 Albanians into the EU and thus gained between €200,000 and €300,000.

In cooperation with the Republika Srpska and Bosnia-Herzegovina police forces, we located an international criminal group suspected of murder, drug and weapon trafficking, robbery, extortion, blackmail and money laundering, Dacic said.

The implementation of the new Law on road safety helped to reduce the number of fatal road accidents by 3%, the Deputy Prime Minister said, noting that the number of people killed in accidents decreased by 10%.

He also reiterated that the Ministry of the Interior played a key role in visa liberalisation, recalling that over 1.4 million biometric passports were issued in 2009 and over 1.3 million biometric ID cards.

As for his Ministry’s priorities in 2010, Dacic listed the fight against the organisers of the most powerful criminal groups, maintaining public peace and order and continuation of the process to modernise and equip the police.

He announced that the police will continue with their determined fight against all kinds of violence, noting that they will also look into all suspicious privatisation processes which had led to mass lay-offs.

As for cooperation with the Hague tribunal, Dacic stressed that Serbia is clearly committed to it and wants to conclude cooperation as soon as possible.