AUXILIARY POLICE FORCE NEEDED, SOME UNNECESSARILY POLITICIZE THIS SECURITY ISSUE

BANJA LUKA, JULY 4 /SRNA/ – Law professor Ljubinko Mitrović told SRNA that there has long been an objective need to establish an auxiliary police force in Republika Srpska, emphasizing that certain individuals are deeply politicizing this security and practical issue with unfounded comments.

He noted that the need for auxiliary police force to act in specific situations is not something new nor is it unique to Republika Srpska. Mitrović, who worked in the police for over two decades in high-ranking positions, recalled that an auxiliary police force existed for years before the war across all republics of the former SFRY, including SR BiH. "All of us who worked in the Ministry of Internal Affairs /MOI/ of the then BiH before the war well remember the reserve police force, which existed as a formation performing certain police activities in legally prescribed cases. I see the new legal provision of Republika Srpska in that same context, at the proposal of the MOI of Republika Srpska," Mitrović stated. He explained that the Law on Amendments to the Law on Police and Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska creates a legal basis for the possible engagement of additional police officers in cases of natural disasters or uncontrolled migrant influx. "These are all possible scenarios," Mitrović said. He rejected malicious media comments suggesting that the auxiliary police force would allegedly become some sort of guard unit. Mitrović believes that a purely practical security issue is being deeply politicized and given a completely different dimension instead of being viewed factually. The National Assembly of Republika Srpska yesterday adopted the Law on Amendments to the Law on Police and Internal Affairs, which provides for the auxiliary police force. The Minister of Internal Affairs Siniša Karan stated that the reasons for adopting this law lie in the need to formally establish the legal prerequisites for raising security to a higher level, particularly during emergencies caused by humanitarian crises.