Association of Criminologists: Law must ensure only specialised personnel work in the police

Deputies of the Sarajevo Canton Assembly will discuss the Draft Law on Police Officers of Sarajevo Canton at a session scheduled for Tuesday, Patria reports. On this occasion, members of the Association of Criminologists, Criminologists and Security Managers and the Association of the Student Council of the Faculty of Criminalistics, Criminology and Security Studies have submitted several proposals they believe should be included in the new Law on Police Officers in Sarajevo Canton, in order to further improve the position of police officers in this canton.

- We emphasise that the criminal justice system plays a key role in preserving the rule of law, while the police have a crucial role in that system. Regulations in this area need to be adopted with special attention, but their application must also be monitored and controlled. Namely, in the proposed draft of the Law on Police Officers of Sarajevo Canton, Article 52, Paragraph 1, Point c) states that one of the general conditions for employment in a police body in the rank of junior inspector is that the candidate must have at least a VI (sixth) level of education or completed first cycle of higher education amounting to at least 180 ECTS credits. This would mean that anyone with a completed university degree, regardless of their field of study, could apply for the position of police officer in the rank of junior inspector, which certainly does not meet the needs of the service, i.e., the performance of very complex and specific tasks of authorised officials for which specialist knowledge is necessary – the Association believes.

The Association reminds that, at the same time, statistics from the Employment Bureau of Sarajevo Canton record an increase in unemployed persons with degrees in criminalistics, criminology or security management.

- In their daily work, police officers face very important and complex challenges. Detecting criminal offences and identifying their perpetrators falls into the category of the most complex tasks carried out in a state organisation. The success of this activity often determines the actions of all other bodies of formal social crime control, so that errors or omissions in the preliminary phase of the fight against crime leave irreparable consequences for the rule of law system.

The professional, objective and expert conduct of police officers in implementing regulations within the competence of the Ministry of Internal Affairs depends primarily on the provisions relating to the employment, promotion and performance evaluation of police officers.

It is evident that the current positive legal framework has offered absolutely no advantage to personnel specialised for work in police bodies. If one also takes into account that graduates in criminalistics, criminology and security management are objectively not in a position to apply for jobs outside their profession, the problematic nature of the current openness of positions in police bodies to all other personnel is clear.

The only socially responsible policy at this moment would include ensuring guaranteed jobs in the profession, in the same way that lawyers achieve them within judicial institutions or doctors in the medical profession.

Members of the Association of Criminologists, Criminologists and Security Managers and the Association of the Student Council of the Faculty of Criminalistics, Criminology and Security Studies, appreciating and respecting the complexity and diversity of tasks falling within the competence of police officers, are of the opinion that it is necessary, in the procedures for selecting and later promoting police officers, to take into account, in addition to professional experience, also educational qualifications. In this way, specific professions in our higher education system, which are fundamentally guided by the needs of police and related institutions, would receive their full affirmation. In addition, there would be a significant step forward towards specialising police work by precisely defining jobs according to the type of educational qualification. Thus, the effectiveness of police bodies' work would be best linked to the professions of criminalists, criminologists and security managers – the Association believes.

The Association of Criminologists, Criminologists and Security Managers and the Association of the Student Council of the Faculty of Criminalistics, Criminology and Security Studies intend to take an active part in the public debates that will be held after the adoption of the draft Law on Police Officers of Sarajevo Canton, Patria reports.