OHR and US Embassy Welcome Adoption of Police Law Amendments

SARAJevo, (Patria) - The Office of the High Representative in BiH (OHR) and the US Embassy welcomed the adoption of amendments to the police law, specifically the Law on Internal Affairs and the Law on Police Officers in the Sarajevo Canton Assembly.

"OHR welcomes the unanimous adoption of amendments to the Law on Internal Affairs and the Law on Police Officers at yesterday's session of the Sarajevo Canton Assembly. These amendments will bring improvements to the professional functioning of the Sarajevo Canton police. The fact that such a high level of consensus was reached in the Assembly is a message to the citizens that their interests come first," stated the OHR.

These laws regulate relations within the police, such as promotions, more efficient operation and functioning of the organizational units of the Police Administration, and crucially, they enable the employment of 300 police officers, as highlighted by the Sarajevo Canton Minister of Internal Affairs, Ismir Jusko.

The US Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina also commented on Twitter.

"Reliable, professional, and respected police are essential. We commend the Sarajevo Canton Assembly for unanimously adopting the much-needed amendments to the Law on Internal Affairs and the Law on Police Officers," the statement read.

The US Embassy added that the law changes will strengthen police professionalism and make the police more responsive to the needs of citizens.

Although these laws could have been adopted several months ago, the procedure was halted due to amendments submitted by the Minister of Finance, Jasmin Halebić. Only when MP Aljoša Čampara submitted an identical text of the amendments to the procedure did the Government resubmit the proposal, which was adopted yesterday. Čampara supported these amendments but stated that politicking had halted their adoption months ago, and that today the procedures for admitting new police officers would be nearly completed.