Law enforcement in

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

is the responsibility of the Croatian Police (), 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. The Police deals with the following affairs: protection of individual life, rights, security and integrity, protection of

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, re ...

, prevention and detection of

criminal offences In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Cane ...

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...

s, search for perpetrators of criminal offences, violations and their bringing before competent authorities, control and management of

road traffic Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes. Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly and ...

, conducting affairs with aliens, control and security of

state border State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

, and other affairs defined by law. 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 Nationality is the legal status of belonging to a particular nation, defined as a group of people organized in one country, under one legal jurisdiction, or as a group of people who are united on the basis of culture. In international law, n ...

-related affairs, status questions and

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea * ...

, affairs of protection and rescue, inspection affairs and technical affairs. In recent years, the force has been undergoing a reform with assistance from international agencies, including the

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is a regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization comprising member states in Europe, North America, and Asia. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, the p ...

since

OSCE Mission to Croatia OSCE Mission to Croatia was the field mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe operating in Croatia in from July 1996 until the December 2007. The Mission become preeminent international organization in Croatia after the ...

began there on 18 April 1996, with Croatia being admitted to OSCE on March 24, 1992.

Police powers

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. 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. 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.

Organization

The General Police Directorate () is an administrative organization of the Ministry of the Interior constituted for conducting police affairs. The General Police Directorate is responsible for: * 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 (). There are the following organization forms within General Police Directorate: * Police Directorate (''Uprava policije'') * Criminal Police Directorate (''Uprava kriminalističke policije'') * Border Police Directorate (''Uprava za granicu'') * 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 A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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 The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...

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 2015 European migrant crisis was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and migrants into Europe, mostly from the Middle East. An estimated 1.3 million people came to the continent to request asylum, the most in a single ...

. 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. 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 Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to the north a ...

, i.e. from the EU ( push-backs). It would come again and again to attacks by the Croatian officials on the refugees. 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 The Schengen Area ( , ) encompasses European countries that have officially abolished border controls at their common borders. As an element within the wider area of freedom, security and justice (AFSJ) policy of the European Union (EU), it ...

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'')

Intervention Police (''Interventna policija'')

Hrvatska policija papa Benedikt XVI 04052011 2

Special Police (''Specijalna policija'')

Weapons

Equipment

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 Octavia The Škoda Octavia is a small family car (C-segment) produced by the Czech Republic, Czech Automotive industry, car manufacturer Škoda Auto since the end of 1996. It shares its name with an Škoda Octavia (1959–71), earlier model produced b ...

s, 4-door

Opel Astra The Opel Astra is a compact car/ small family car ( C-segment) developed and produced by the German automaker Opel since 1991, currently at its sixth generation. It was first launched in September 1991 as a direct replacement to the Opel Kade ...

s, some

Citroën C-Elysée Citroën C-Elysée is a subcompact (B-segment) sedan produced by the French manufacturer Citroën since 2012, introduced at the Paris Motor Show the same year. It is closely related to the Peugeot 301, launched the same year. It was facelifted ...

s and, more prominently,

Ford Focus The Ford Focus is a compact car (C-segment in Europe) manufactured by Ford Motor Company from 1998 until 2025. It was created under Alexander Trotman's Ford 2000 plan, which aimed to globalize model development and sell one compact vehicle worl ...

es (unmarked sedans and marked estates). File:Croatian police car (02).JPG, Škoda Octavia police car File:Croatian police motorcycle (3).jpg, A motor officer patrolling in Zagreb on a motorcycle File:Policijski vodeni top CVT-6000.JPG, Water cannon model CVT-6000 File:Croatia police van (04).JPG,

Mercedes-Benz Vito The Mercedes-Benz Vito is a mid-sized light commercial vehicle (LCV) produced by Mercedes-Benz, available as a panel van, chassis cab, or multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), carrying cargo or up to eight passengers. In the Mercedes-Benz van lineup, it ...

police van File:Trsat P 206 130610 1.jp
Cantiere Navale Vittoria V-800HR
police boat

Helicopters

Croatian police Augusta Bell 212.jpg,

Agusta-Bell 212 The Bell 212 (also known as the ''Bell Two-Twelve'') is a two-blade, twin-engine, medium helicopter that first flew in 1968. Originally manufactured by Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth, Texas, United States, production was moved to Mirabel, Queb ...

Croatian police helicopter Bell 206 B.jpg,

Bell 206B The Bell 206 is a family of two-bladed, single- and twin-engined helicopters, manufactured by Bell Helicopter at its Mirabel, Quebec, plant. Originally developed as the Bell YOH-4 for the United States Army's Light Observation Helicopter progra ...

-3 JetRanger III Croatian Police Helicopter.jpg,

JetRanger II

Controversies

According to human rights organizations, Croatian police has been accused of overt and, generally unpunished, brutality.

Amnesty international Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

has issued a detailed report on the allegations of torture of refugees and migrants, while the

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

has criticized the organization impunity of violence and unlawful pushbacks at their borders. In 2021, the

Border Violence Monitoring Network The Border Violence Monitoring Network (BVMN) is a coalition of over 12 organizations whose stated goal is "documenting illegal pushbacks & police violence by EU uropean Unionmember state authorities in the Western Balkans and Greece". The or ...

published a report into the use of torture and inhuman treatment during pushbacks by Croatian police. 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

Corruption

Notes

External links

Police / Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Croatia
{{Police