Law enforcement in Croatia is the responsibility of the Croatian Police (Croatian: Hrvatska policija), which is the national police force of the country subordinated by the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia, carrying out certain tasks, the so-called, police activities, laid down by law.[2]
The Police deals with the following affairs: protection of individual life, rights, security and integrity, protection of property, prevention and detection of criminal offences, misdemeanors, violations, search for perpetrators of criminal offences, misdemeanors, violations and their bringing before competent authorities, control and management of road traffic, conducting affairs with aliens, control and security of state border, and other affairs defined by law.[3]
In the operative sense, police affairs are divided into affairs related to public peace and order, affairs related to security of public gatherings, affairs of the border police, affairs of safety of road traffic, affairs of counter-explosive protection, affairs of the criminal police, crime-technical affairs, crime-files affairs, administrative affairs, nationality-related affairs, status questions and asylum, affairs of protection and rescue, inspection affairs and technical affairs.[3]
Police officers' powers in order to maintain peace in Croatia, such as the power to stop and search, seize property and use force, are regulated.[5] A police officer in Croatia may only stop and search a person if a court has issued a warrant, and it is possible that this person has broken the law or is in possession of items or tools which are considered unlawful.[citation needed]
A police officer is only allowed to use firearms if there is an immediate threat to his own life or the lives of other people, to prevent a crime from being committed for which the minimum prison sentence is five years or more, or to prevent the escape of a prisoner caught committing an offence for which the prison sentence is a maximum of ten years.[5]
Organization
Flag of Croatian Police
The General Police Directorate (Croatian: Ravnateljstvo policije) is an administrative organization of the Ministry of the Interior constituted for conducting police affairs. The General Police Directorate is responsible for:[2]
screening and analysis of the state of security and developments leading to the emergence and development of crime;
harmonization, guidance and supervision over the work of Police Directorates and Police Administrations;
immediate participation in particular more complex operations of Police Directorates and Police Administrations;
providing for the implementation of the international agreements on police cooperation and other international acts under the competence of the General Police Directorate;
organizing and conducting of criminal forensics operations;
setting the prerequisites for the efficient work of the Police Academy;
adopting of standards for the equipment and technical means;
setting the prerequisites for the police readiness to act in the state of emergency.
General Police Directorate is headed by General Police Director (Croatian: glavni ravnatelj policije).
There are the following organization forms within General Police Directorate:[6][7]
Command of Special Police (Zapovjedništvo specijalne policije)
Operational Communication Centre (Operativno–komunikacijski centar policije)
Forensic Centre (Centar za kriminalistička vještačenja)
Police Academy (Policijska akademija)
Special Security Affairs Directorate (Uprava za posebne poslove sigurnosti)
For immediate conducting of police affairs there are 20 Police Administrations (policijske uprave) divided into four categories, which cover the territory of the Republic of Croatia according to the organization of units of local self-government (counties or županije).
Police stations are established for direct police and other affairs in each Police Administration.
Border control
Croatia has had an external border with the Schengen area since the accession of the country to the EU. As part of the major migration movements from 2015, Croatia became part of the so-called Balkan route. The European Border Agency Frontex has a small mission in Croatia to assist the police at various border crossings. In July 2018 Frontex organized the air reconnaissance of the border with Bosnia with a reconnaissance aircraft as part of the Frontex 'Multipurpose Aerial Surveillance (MAS). The aircraft transmit moving images of remote sensing cameras in real time to the Frontex Situation Center (FSC) in Warsaw, Poland.[8]. In 2023, Croatia became a Schengen Zone member state.
Critics
For several times NGOs report, that the Croatian police illegally and arbitrarily deport refugees to Bosnia-Herzegovina, i.e. from the EU (push-backs). It would come again and again to attacks by the Croatian officials on the refugees.[9][10][11]
Working conditions
Croatian police have salaries much lower than the average salary in the country, and has the lowest net wage among all EU countries. For a full-time police officer, the monthly wage amounts approximately to €700; this has been attributed, justly or unjustly, to the declining interest of new candidates at the police academy. Much effort has been invested in media to popularize the profession of law enforcement; absent significant salary increases, however, such efforts have been criticized, before the fact, as futile.
Equipment
Despite having access to Schengen funds and investing significant amount of money in various equipment, it has been claimed that the basic needs of officers are incompletely covered; for example, winter parka jackets are issued to the officer upon initial tour of duty, and in some cases it has been claimed that reissues even after 10 years of service were unavailable.
Ranks
Regular Police (Temeljna policija)
Probationer with Secondary School
Police college Cadet
Police Officer
Senior Police Officer
Police Sergeant
Senior Police Sergeant
Police Inspector
Senior Police Inspector
Leading Police Inspector
Chief Police Inspector
Police Commissioner
Police Senior Commissioner
Deputy Police Director
Police Director
Policajac vježbenik SSS
Policajac vježbenik VŠS/VSS
Policajac
Viši policajac
Policijski narednik
Viši policijski narednik
Policijski inspektor
Viši policijski inspektor
Samostalni policijski inspektor
Glavni policijski inspektor
Policijski savjetnik
Glavni policijski savjetnik
Zamjenik ravnatelja policije
Ravnatelj policije
Intervention Police (Interventna policija)
Intervention Police members
Police officer in intervention group
Leader of intervention group
Commander of a section in intervention Police
Commander of platoon in Intervention Police - Instructor
Assistant Commander of troop in Intervention Police
Commander of troop in Intervention Police
Deputy/Assistant Commander of Intervention Police unit
Commander of Intervention Police unit
Instructor in headquarters of Intervention Police
Assistant Commander of Intervention Police
Commander of Intervention Police
Policajac u interventnoj policiji
Vođa grupe u interventnoj policiji
Zapovjednik odjeljenja
Zapovjednik voda – instruktor
Pomoćnik zapovjednika satnije interventne policije
Zapovjednik satnije interventne policije
Zamjenik zapovjednika – pomoćnik zapovjednika
Zapovjednik jedinice interventne policije
Policijski službenik – instruktor
Pomoćnik zapovjednika interventne policije
Zapovjednik interventne policije
Special Police (Specijalna policija)
Special Police members
Police Officer - specialist
Leader of specialized group
Instructor - Commander of platoon in Special Police
Assistant Commander of Intervention Police unit
Commander of Special Police unit
Instructor in headquarters of Special Police
Assistant Commander of Special Police
Commander of Special Police
Policajac - specijalac
Vođa specijalističke grupe
Instruktor – zapovjednik voda u specijalnoj jedinici policije
Pomoćnik zapovjednika specijalne jedinice policije
Since 2013, there were special efforts by the Ministry of the Interior to equip the Croatian police with new vehicles and uniforms. Police cars consist mainly of mostly Škoda Octavias, 4-door Opel Astras, some Citroën C-Elysées and, more prominently, Ford Focuses (unmarked sedans and marked estates).
Škoda Octavia police car
A motor officer patrolling in Zagreb on a motorcycle
According to human rights organizations, Croatian police has been accused of overt and, generally unpunished, brutality. Amnesty international has issued a detailed report on the allegations of torture of refugees and migrants,[16] while the Human Rights Watch has criticized the organization impunity of violence and unlawful pushbacks at their borders.[17]
In 2021, the Border Violence Monitoring Network published a report into the use of torture and inhuman treatment during pushbacks by Croatian police.[18] They assert that:
87% of pushbacks carried out by Croatian authorities contained one or more forms of violence and abuse that we assert amounts to torture or inhuman treatment
Unmuzzled police dogs were encouraged by Croatian officers to attack people who were detained
Croatian officers forcibly undressed people, setting fire to their clothes and pushed them back across international borders in a complete state of undress
Accepting bribes is a common form of street police corruption in Croatia. According to the International Victim Crimes Survey, 15 out of 100 respondents reported paying a bribe within the last year – 44% of which were paid to police officers.[19] This frequency is higher than most other East-European countries, with respondents suggesting that police in Croatia are targeted more frequently for successful bribes compared to other countries in East-Europe.[19] These results indicate that police corruption, especially in regards to the acceptance of a bribe by a police officer, seems to be more prevalent among Croatian police than among police in other East-European countries.[19]
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