What the police is supposed to do: contrasting expectations of community policing in Serbia

Abstract

Concentrating specifically on policing reform in the Republic of Serbia shortly after the fall of Slobodan Miloševic's regime, this article focuses on the process of introducing community policing to a police force equipped and trained to operate in an authoritarian context. The article aims to define the difficulties encountered by transitional police organizations and to examine the type of solutions that have been proffered both by the police and by community leaders and other informed members of the public in Serbia. Based on findings from parallel qualitative surveys undertaken between August and November 2002, the article concludes that community policing should be defined in terms that prioritize public participation as a principle of good governance to be adapted by the Serbian Ministry of the Interior. The findings ultimately suggest that a form of progressive political accountability focused on local police policies, requiring devolution of Ministry power to the local level, is a fundamental prerequisite to a more effective policing environment in Serbia.