Recruitment of 200 police officers underway, but Commissioner Selimović claims there are no vacant positions in that rank

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - While the recruitment procedure for 200 police officers in the Police Administration of the Ministry of Interior of Sarajevo Canton (MUP KS) is underway, it seems that the first man of the Sarajevo police, Commissioner Nusret Selimović, is not even sure how important the staffing reinforcement of MUP KS is and that it is necessary.

Commissioner Selimović, in response to a question from Assemblywoman of the Sarajevo Canton Assembly Amra Hasagić regarding the number of vacant positions in the Police Administration in the rank of police officer and all other ranks on November 24, 2021, stated that there are no vacant positions in the Police Administration in the rank of police officer!

Perhaps according to personnel records this is the case, but it was necessary to emphasize that the recruitment of 200 police officers is underway because, according to the current Rulebook on the Internal Organization of the Ministry of Interior of Sarajevo Canton, the Police Administration is short of exactly 375 police officers. This information was announced by the Police Administration of MUP KS on December 5 on the official website of MUP KS, and in some media appearances by the Minister of Interior Admira Katica, there was talk of nearly 500 police officers.

Commissioner Selimović's response lists the number of vacant positions in other ranks: chief inspector – 6, independent inspector – 5, senior inspector – 19, inspector – 15, junior inspector – 34, senior sergeant – 53, sergeant – 32, senior police officer – 226.

Commissioner Selimović's response to Assemblywoman Hasagić

The Police Administration of MUP KS has also received approval to announce a competition for 30 police officers in the initial rank of "junior inspector," which is yet to be announced.

From the Police Administration, it was confirmed in a certain way that the process of promotion to higher ranks has been halted until the adoption of the new Rulebook on Internal Organization, the drafting of which is in its final phase.

"Amendments to the Law on Internal Affairs of Sarajevo Canton and the Law on Police Officers of Sarajevo Canton, as well as the by-laws whose adoption is prescribed by these laws, are adopted by the competent authorities in accordance with prescribed procedures and previously obtained opinions from bodies whose opinion is mandatory to obtain according to the established procedure. Therefore, all regulations, including the Decree on the content, appearance, awarding, and revocation of ranks for police officers of the Police Administration of the Ministry of Interior of Sarajevo Canton, were adopted according to the prescribed procedure and with prior opinions from the competent authorities. The provisions of the aforementioned Decree, among other things, prescribe that the police commissioner may make a decision to fill positions in the initial rank of 'police officer' by hiring new police officers in a larger number than the number of currently vacant positions in this rank, if such positions will become vacant in the coming period through the process of promotion to a higher rank or loss of police officer status, and that the filling of police officer positions by hiring in initial ranks for which the Cantonal Government has given approval will be carried out according to the established number of executors, in accordance with the obtained approval," states the Police Administration of MUP KS.

Although during the testing of candidates for the 200 police officers, the scoring lists were subsequently corrected and points were added due to a "technical error" despite sophisticated software, the Police Administration rejects claims that the candidate testing process in the current competition has been compromised in any way.

"The processes that are taking place, and whose all steps are documented and verifiable at every step of the procedure, make this competition one of the most transparent competitions for recruitment into police agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We are confident that upon its completion, we will get the most qualified and most prepared candidates," it is stated.

However, the question arises here whether the police officers currently on active duty are as prepared as is required of candidates in the current competition, and when were the last tests for active police officers conducted, such as shooting exercises, psycho-tests, etc.

Although it is commendable that the Police Administration of MUP KS is being strengthened in terms of personnel, it would be even better if union representatives, and even Commissioner Selimović himself, spoke a little more about the real situation in the police.