Training for Police of the Republic of Serbia titled “Creating an Ethical Working Environment” organized by the Centre for European Perspective (CEP) in cooperation and at the request of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia was successfully completed at the Academy of Criminalistic and Police Studies in Belgrade. This was the first in a line of trainings and workshops that CEP will organize for Serbian Police.
The project is part of an official development aid package provided by the Republic of Slovenia to Serbia. More specifically, the Slovenian project partners are the Ministry of Interior, Police as well as Commission for Prevention of Corruption of the Republic of Slovenia. The project realization would not be possible without the support of the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Ljubljana, His Excellency Ambassador Predrag Filipov and Counselor Aleksandra Stanković and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia. Training organized for border police, started with a welcome address delivered by Dražen Maravić, Head of the Bureau for International Cooperation and European Integration at the Ministry of Interior of Serbia and Andreja Dolničar Jeraj, Programme Director of CEP.
Maravic expressed his satisfaction with established cooperation between Ministry of Interior of Serbia and CEP. He emphasized this training is a great opportunity for transferring Slovene best practices and knowledge, aimed at strengthening capacities of the Serbian Police. At the same time he thanked CEP for its support for Serbia as it embarks on the path towards the EU membership.
Andreja Dolnicar Jeraj added, that Slovene border policemen and experts from Slovene Police Academy and Commission for Prevention of Corruption of Slovenia did not come to Belgrade to transfer theoretical knowledge, but rather to exchange practical experiences. In the framework of anti-corruption measures, their aim, according to Dolničar Jeraj, was to direct their attention to concrete solutions and various activities aimed to create ethical work environment, which trainees can use effectively in their roles as chief commanding police officers at border crossings.
This training serves as a good example how time and attention should be spent for management of police officers and police stations from different point of view - additionall emphasis should be paid to ethics and motivation of employees to implement the measures for curbing the corruption. Not only was the program very practical, it was also adapted to the needs of Serbian border police and demanded high level of interaction and involvement of all trainees.
In the workshops, Anton Stubljar, Head of Department for State Border and Foreigners at the Police Directorate Novo mesto, and Bojan Tomc, Deputy Head and Stanislav Svajger, Head of Shift at the Police Unit at the Border Crossing Metlika, focused on positive working environment, one of the preconditions for effective and efficient daily work. They presented the most important duties and managerial skills key commanding police officers should posses, if they wish to create a positive working environment, including material and non-material stimulation.
Further on, they talked about positive and negative effects of the Slovene advancement system in comparison to Serbian and exposed annual interview and annual working assessment as two most important elements. Trainees were first introduced to the ethics context by Brane Novak from Police Academy of Slovenia. They discussed moral, values and importance of appropriate communication and transferred all these “big” topics into practical tasks.
Trainees have through the workshop come to important conclusions that will be of great help in their work with policemen in creating an ethical work environment.
Experts from Commission for prevention of corruption of Slovenia have joined the training on Wednesday. Integrity of police units is the most important aspect for curbing the corruption, emphasized Becir Kecanovic, where integrity plan is useful tool. While challenges between units are diverse, it is crucial that each unit makes its own plan of integrity. For that reason workshop was dedicated to the creating of integrity plans. A preliminary risk assessment of border crossing Batrovci that was prepared by his colleagues Simona Stanter and Sandra Blagojevic served as an example through the workshop.
Bojan Luneznik, police attaché from Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Belgrade attended concluding ceremony and awarding of certificates. In the name of the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia and trainees head police counselor Nebojsa Puric, deputy head of Sector for border and coordinator of integrated border management of Serbia expressed his acknowledgments for well accomplished training.
According to first estimations, training was very successful and presents an important step towards the strengthening of capacities for creating an ethical work environment in Serbian police, as one third of the key commanding border police officers were trained. Project will continue in 2010, when training will be provided for other branches of Serbian police as well.
On the edge of the training, Slovenian team was welcomed also by Charge d'Affaires ad interim at the Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia, Jadranka Sturm Kocjan. She expressed her satisfaction with successful implementation of the workshop, which strengthens European perspective of Serbia and beginning of such cooperation between Serbia and Slovenia.