It is in the interest of politics to have obedient figures in police positions, not professionals

Montenegro has an additional problem, which is the rift between identity issues and the offensive activities of Serbian intelligence services and the Serbian Orthodox Church. This means that it is in the interest of politics to have „trusted“ individuals, rather than professionals, in responsible police, intelligence, and judicial positions - said Professor of Criminal Psychology and security expert Sandi Dizdarević in an interview for Portal ETV commenting on the security situation in Montenegro and the position of the European Commission, which assessed that progress in the fight against organized crime has been only partial.

When asked why this is the case, Dizdarević explained that ministers are used to monitor and control the work of police directors, and in that way investigations are controlled and directed depending on who they are launched against.

POLITICIZATION OF THE POLICE

- It is rare today, in the Western Balkans and therefore in Montenegro, to find professional police and intelligence officers in leadership positions. Such individuals cannot be kept under control, nor can their expertise be influenced, because that expertise is directly linked to legality - Dizdarević stressed.

Commenting on the proposed amendments to the Law on Internal Affairs, which envisage simplified procedures for hiring and dismissing officers and transferring all competencies to the top of the Ministry of Interior, he pointed out that this is not a practice being introduced only in Montenegro, but one already present in many Western Balkan countries and even in some EU member states.

- All of this is done under the pretext that within the next year or two the security system will collapse due to the retirement of experienced staff and the lack of a fast-track employment and training system. In reality, this is merely a cover for establishing legal norms that will enable power through discretionary authority, primarily of ministers as political figures, to hire, dismiss, and extend employment contracts, but only for police officers who are loyal, selected, and politically suitable. This leads us into further politicization of the police, the creation of de-homogenization within police ranks, discrimination, and a complete absence of professional standards - Dizdarević is clear.

ON SECURITY

He also believes that security in Montenegro is quite poor and that this situation is the result of decades-long degradation of the security sector, particularly through the employment of unqualified personnel, poor human-resources policy, inadequate investigations, and links with criminal structures.

The security situation of a state, including Montenegro, is assessed through coefficients that evaluate crime, public, and national security.

- When you look at the first area - crime assessment - based on official police statistics and statements from competent authorities, the security situation appears excellent and is usually presented as: „The number of criminal offenses involving violent and sexual crimes is 10 percent lower compared to the same period last year“. However, all former Yugoslav countries keep such statistics, which are often used manipulatively. The quality of police work under the „crime situation“ indicator is objective only if a structural analysis of criminal offenses is conducted.

To clarify, violent crimes include both minor and serious bodily injury, as well as murder. Statistically, they carry the same weight, but structurally, analyses show that cases of bodily injury are solved, while murders - especially those with elements of organized crime - remain recorded mainly in academic research - Dizdarević explained. 

WITHOUT INTELLIGENCE BREAKTHROUGH

Commenting on three shootings in three days, the security expert believes that the police and the National Security Agency (NSA) are in a rather passive position, as these are not the first shootings to occur in city centers, which calls into question the overall safety of all citizens.

According to him, this means that criminal organizations have become so emboldened that they do not even fear repression, having lost their „ethical criminal code“. This requires highly complex investigations and medium and long-term strategic planning by both the NSA and competent police and judicial authorities, primarily for a repressive response.

- The very fact that shootings, murders, and injuries are occurring in urban and central zones indicates another important element - that neither the NSA nor the police have offensive intelligence breakthrough. In the case of the police, this means a lack of quality criminal intelligence, as both models of work are based on acting before the consequences, not after them - Dizdarević said.

„RESULTS“

He pointed out that, in the overall EU and Western Balkan rankings for corruption and organized crime, Montenegro is positioned extremely poorly. This ranking, he explained, is based on the results of independent international organizations operating under the umbrella of the United Nations.

- Organized crime involving corruption-related offenses, murders, and the unauthorized production and distribution of narcotic drugs is more prevalent in Montenegro than in other Western Balkan countries. At the same time, the work of certain institutions and individuals within the Special State Prosecutor’s Office deserves recognition, as they have demonstrated that they are capable and knowledgeable, successfully bringing some major organized crime cases to completion and proving the guilt of the accused - Dizdarević said.

When asked to comment on the contrast between praise for results coming from the leadership of the Ministry of Interior and the Police Directorate, and data showing a drastic decline in public trust in the police, Dizdarević said that there is no authority - especially a police authority - that will not present results that work in its favor.

He noted that if one were to analyze conferences held by directors and ministers in every government, citizens would see the same pattern - that under their leadership, the police achieved the greatest success.

- Public trust in the police can be based on objective and subjective factors. If murders, injuries, and shootings occur during the day, in central gathering places, cafés, near schools and universities, a subjective sense of distrust among citizens is entirely justified. An objective indicator would be for the police to solve a murder case, arrest the perpetrator, and, together with prosecutors, prove guilt. However, if the murder occurred near a school, the sense of insecurity has already been formed - Dizdarević said.

When asked to comment on the conduct of people in the security sector and the absence of responsibility, considering that 23 people - including four children - were killed in two massacres in Cetinje, Dizdarević believes that moral responsibility no longer exists, as a new value system has been established based on affiliation with certain groups.

- Morality is a set of value norms that characterize an individual and can be directly linked to expertise and professionalism. No moral person would accept a high position if their moral value system did not consider them competent and capable of fulfilling a state task. Today’s leaders are accountable only within a political hierarchy, moving from one position to another, even if it is their first job. Imagine it this way: for me and my system of values, as well as for most professionals in the police, the Minister of the Interior should be a „wolf“ in the police-criminal or intelligence sense, someone who has left visible traces in the fight against crime and enhanced practical work with academic knowledge. However, in our country, ministers are self-proclaimed operatives who have never worked in policing (with honorable exceptions), and this position is one of their first political jobs or even their first employment - Dizdarević concluded.