Law enforcement in Montenegro
Law enforcement in Montenegro is primarily the responsibility of the Police Administration (Uprava Policije).
Police Administration of Montenegro Uprava Policije Crne Gore | |
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Emblem of Montenegrin Police | |
Badge of Montenegrin Police Officers | |
Common name | Policija Crne Gore |
Agency overview | |
Formed | 1994 |
Preceding agency |
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Employees | 4,106 ranked police officers |
Jurisdictional structure | |
National agency | ME |
Operations jurisdiction | ME |
Governing body | Government of Montenegro |
General nature | |
Operational structure | |
Headquarters | Podgorica, 22 Svetog Petra Cetinjskog Boulevard |
Minister responsible |
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Agency executive |
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Facilities | |
Regional Police Units | 8 |
Website | |
www |
Organization
All units of the Police Administration report to the Police Director. Police Administration of Montenegro was formally under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Interior, but became fully independent government body in 2019. Ministry retains control over internal affairs, issuance of personal documents for Montenegrin citizens (ID, drivers licence and passport), emergency situations management, and financial and budgetary oversight of Police Administration. Thus, the role of the Minister of the Interior is supervisory, and he has no operational authority over police officers.
National level
On a national level, Police Administration organized into 7 sectors, which are main operational units of police, each headed by Deputy Police Director, while 4 departments and 4 other units serve in a support and administrative tasks:
- Sectors:
- General Authority Police Sector
- Criminal Police Sector
- Organized Crime and Corruption Suppression Sector
- Border Police Sector
- Persons and Objects Protection Sector
- Special Police Units Sector
- Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Suppression Sector
- Departments and units:
- International Police Cooperation and Public Relations Department
- Analytics and Police Activities Development Department
- Forensic Center
- Internal Financial Revision Department
- Telecommunication and Electronics Department
- Information Security and Data Processing Center
- Human Resources and Legal Affairs Unit
- Financial, General and Auxiliary Affairs Unit
Territorial units
For direct execution of law enforcement tasks on the territory of Montenegro, 8 Regional Police Units (Područne Jedinice Policije) exist:
- Podgorica Regional Police Unit (with Police Outposts in Tuzi, Danilovgrad, Cetinje and Kolašin)
- Nikšić Regional Police Unit (with Police Outposts in Plužine and Šavnik)
- Bar Regional Police Unit (with Police Outpost in Ulcinj)
- Herceg Novi Regional Police Unit (with Police Outposts in Kotor and Tivat)
- Berane Regional Police Unit (with Police Outposts in Rožaje, Plav, Gusinje, Petnjica and Andrijevica)
- Bijelo Polje Regional Police Unit (with Police Outpost in Mojkovac)
- Pljevlja Regional Police Unit (with Police Outpost in Žabljak)
- Budva Regional Police Unit
Police of Montenegro is legally governed by Law on Internal Affairs of Montenegro (Zakon o unutrašnjim poslovima). In criminal matters, Police is also bound to adhere to Criminal procedure law of Montenegro (Zakonik o krivičnom postupku), and its officers are required to conduct criminal investigations per instructions of Montenegrin public prosecutors.
Resources and equipment
The Police Administration has 4,106 employees in 2018:
- 3,013 Police Officers
- 149 Police Sergeants
- 920 Police Inspectors
- 37 Police Advisors
Public law and order officer on duty is usually equipped with a side gun (usually a Glock 17, CZ 99 are phased out), a pair of handcuffs, a police baton, and a Motorola TETRA MTP 850 S radio communication device.
The Police Administration operates a fleet of road vehicles, numbering 470 in 2016. Standard patrol car is a white Opel Astra J saloon, although various other vehicles are also operating, notably Dacia Dusters as Border police patrol cars. Special police units are usually seen in Land Rover Defender off-road vehicles and BOV-M armoured vehicles.
Police Headquarters building is located on 22 Svetog Petra Cetinjskog Boulevard, in central Podgorica. It was erected in 2010 and has 9,360 m2 (100,800 sq ft) of office space, and also houses Podgorica Regional Police Unit. In Podgorica, aside from the new headquarters building, Police of Montenegro uses the old Ministry of the Interior building (located next to the new one), the "limenka" ("the can") building, logistics complex in Zagorič suburb and Special Units training camp in Zlatica suburb.
The Police Academy is located in Danilovgrad, and provides both basic police education, and professional and specialized training. Forensic Center is also located in Danilovgrad.
Aviation Unit
Montenegro's Civil Police Aviation Unit forms part of the Montenegro Government Aviation Unit, and purchased its first aircraft in 1972, with three more SA341 Gazelles transferred from the military air force in the 1990s.[1] Aviation unit also operates two Augusta-Bell AB412. All helicopters are based at Golubovci Airport, Podgorica.[2]
Police Directors
- Veselin Veljović (October 2005 - December 2011)
- Božidar Vuksanović (December 2011 - February 2013, acting director)
- Slavko Stojanović (February 2013 - March 2018)
- Vesko Damjanović (March 2018 - July 2018, acting director)
- Veselin Veljović (July 2018 – december 2020)
- Vesko Damjanović (December 2020 – present, acting director)
Ranks
Officers
Enlisted
See also
External links
- Ministry of Interior
- Police Administration
- OSCE Report Police Reform in Montenegro 2006-2011: Assessment and Recommendations - by Sonja Stojanović and Novak Gajić
Notes
- Aeroflight Montenegro Police profile Archived 2007-03-19 at the Wayback Machine retrieved on May 19, 2007
- International Air Power Review Vol.9 p. 90-91