Border Police of BiH Specified Ethnic Structure of Cadets: Guided by Current Situation and Future Retirements of Police Officers

(Patria) - The Border Police of BiH has provided an explanation as to why in the latest competition from July this year for the admission of 150 cadets, it specified the national structure of candidates, i.e., why it requested 52 Bosniaks, 50 Serbs, 44 Croats, and four from the category of Others.

In his response, the Director of the Border Police of BiH, Mirko Kuprešaković, also provided data on the current national structure within this police agency. The Border Police of BiH employs 1,835 employees, of which 809 are Bosniaks (44.1 percent), 608 Serbs (33.11 percent), 378 Croats (20.6 percent), and 40 Others. Incidentally, according to the systematization, the Border Police of BiH has 3,120 positions, but the number has ranged around 2,000 employees since its establishment, and it is in a chronic staffing deficit.

Regarding the national structure of employees, it is based on data from the 1991 Census, according to which state police agencies are staffed.

"The structure of field offices and units reflects the national structure of the population within their areas of responsibility. The representation of each constituent people in BiH at all levels cannot in any case be greater than 2/3 nor less than 1/10 of the total personnel of the Border Police of BiH. All units of the Border Police of BiH are fully mixed in national composition, and all members can perform duties at any point along the border," states the Border Police of BiH.

Regarding the ethnic structure of the 150 cadets, the requested ratio reflects the current state of employees by national structure, as well as the projected termination of employment for police officers in the upcoming period.

Kuprešaković also provided tables showing the national composition of the field offices for which the call was issued.