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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Highly-trained police precondition for combating hi-tech crime

Belgrade, 3 November 2010

First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior Ivica Dacic stated today that in order to efficiently fight hi-tech crime, the police must always be a step ahead of all those committing crimes via computers and the internet.

Opening a regional training course on combating hi-tech crime at the Palace of Serbia, Dacic stressed that it is important that the police are highly trained and technologically equipped with state-of-the-art equipment.

He noted that the most important aspect of the fight should also be international and regional cooperation, because hi-tech crime knows no borders and permeates almost all areas of social life.

He maintained that computers and electronic communication are present in all spheres of life, from reading and buying books on the internet, to socialising and paying by virtual money, adding that some of the severest criminal acts, including violence, fraud, terrorism and money laundering, are also related to it.

Computers have become a means for the execution of criminal acts and the internet a means of communication during the preparation of the crime, Dacic observed.

Over the last 15 years, almost all serious crimes have been executed with the help of computers and the internet. Therefore, we formed a special unit to fight hi-tech crime at the Sector for Fighting Organised Crime, he recalled.

Head of the OSCE mission to Serbian Dimitrios Kypreos said that the training programme, organised by the OSCE and the Ministry of the Interior, shows the Serbian government’s readiness to fight this form of crime.

He called upon governments in the region to cooperate in this fight because crime does not recognise borders and finds its way into all areas of society. He added that one of the biggest problems is the abuse of children for online child pornography.

After completing their training, all 20 police officers from southeast European states will be certified instructors on how to fight hi-tech crime.

Dacic told the press that in the aftermath of the earthquake in Kraljevo, there were no criminal activities in the town, such as robberies of shops or flats, although the town was in an emergency situation.

He explained that fire and rescue units were dispatched to Kraljevo and that units of the Gendarmerie and the Police Administration were distributed in the field to prevent any criminal acts.

The government will help to clear up the consequences of the earthquake in Kraljevo and during the day we will know how many people have lost a roof over their heads.

Several rescue teams have been deployed on the territory of Kraljevo. These teams are trained for emergency situations and are able to respond in case of new quakes, he outlined.

We will assess which buildings can no longer be used, but is crucial to re-establish health care, control the quality of water and repair malfunctions to infrastructure and means of communication for the time being, Dacic concluded.