KARAN: CURRENT POLITICAL SITUATION HAS NOT AFFECTED SECURITY

BANJA LUKA, APRIL 2 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska Interior Minister Siniša Karan told SRNA on the occasion of Police Day - April 4 that the current political situation has not affected the security situation in Srpska, although he is well aware that part of the political public is publicly cheering for the opposite.

Karan says this was stated at a very constructive meeting with the new EUFOR commander in BiH a few days ago.

He emphasized that the safety of residents and their property, the protection of institutions and Republika Srpska were the basic tasks of the Interior Ministry members, which they have exercised and proven many times so far.

"The job of the police has never been easy. Ours is not to `measure` pressure, but to carry out tasks in accordance with the Constitution and the law. In the days behind us, we have proven that our determination to respect the law will never be questioned," said Karan.

Karan assessed a 10 percent salary increase for MoI employees as very significant, as well as a 30 percent compensation for the difficulty, nature of work and special working conditions, bearing in mind the complexity and risks faced by police officers when performing their duties.

"As of April 1, the average net salary in Srpska MoI will be BAM 2,177, instead of the previous BAM 1,691. The lowest net salary for a police officer with a high school diploma will be BAM 1,878, which is nearly BAM 550 higher," said Karan and added that he believes it would be a significant stimulus.

He mentioned the police had carried out two international operations combating organised crime in the past few weeks, together with Europol, and had completed several important economic crime cases.

"We were perhaps the first police force in the country to express readiness for cooperation with Europol and insisted on establishing a functional contact point in BiH for cooperation with Europol when those who were deeply involved in crime tried to prevent it. We cannot express how important this segment of work is," Karan pointed out.

He stated that in the past five years, the police prosecuted 68 organised criminal groups that committed 307 crimes with elements of organization.

Karan stated that the crime rate in the area of Srpska has decreased by about five percent from year to year, and that the rate of solving crimes is about 91.8 percent.

The line minister emphasized that the Ministry of Interior, with the support of the Republika Srpska Government and republican institutions, above all the president of the Republic, is trying to work according to the plan to strengthen the Police of Republika Srpska.

"These days, we need to distribute 110 new official vehicles that we acquired through the public procurement of operational leasing. We also got the third helicopter for our new administration office," noted Karan.

Republika Srpska Police Day is marked on April 4, when it was formed in 1992 as an executive institution, operational and investigative body of the Ministry of Interior.