With the joint action of all segments of society, the fight against organized crime and corruption can be successful and efficient, the results good and measurable, and the focus should be on staff education.
This was announced at the conference "Combating organized crime and high corruption, through cooperation and professional training of personnel", which was organized by the International Police Organization of Montenegro (IPO). PR Center.
Zoran Miljanić, the minister without portfolio for the fight against corruption, said that the police have undertaken a number of activities in the past year when it comes to the fight against organized crime and corruption.
"This, first of all, refers to the fight against the smuggling of narcotics and tobacco products, the fight against economic crime, as well as the fight against high corruption and corruption in general at all levels," said Miljanić.
He pointed out that there is an increase in citizens' trust in the police, and that, as he explained, would not be possible without internal cooperation with Montenegrin institutions and bodies and with regional and international partners.
"With the growth of citizens' trust in the work of the police, there has been an increase in the trust of international partners. It is efficient and effective cooperation that has led to this outcome and the basis on which we need to work further. A lot of effort has been invested in establishing meritocratic management of human resources. When it comes to fight against corruption, we have decided to approach this problem in a thorough and systematic way. The first step will be the creation of the first National Strategy for the fight against corruption. The second step will be the formation of the National Council for the fight against corruption, which will ensure that the Strategy is implemented on a quality basis way and in the appropriate dynamics," said Miljanić.
In order for the results to be permanent and stable, the involvement of all segments of society, from state institutions, local self-government, through political partners, Parliament, the NGO sector and citizens, is needed, he believes.
"The message of the 43rd Government is zero tolerance for organized crime and zero tolerance for corruption. We recognized that it is of crucial importance for the state to close Chapters 23 and 24, and this is not possible without prosecuting corruption cases and without fighting at the level of ad hoc cases, but at the level of a strategy and institutional framework," said Miljanić.
IPO President Ivan Pekić, as an expert on organized crime, terrorism and corruption, pointed out that organized crime can only be defeated by joint action.
"By that I mean that in addition to us who fight against these scourges in our own way, in the way that we in the NGO sector are allowed, joint cooperation with ministries, the Police Department, journalists is important. Together, we can oppose organized crime and high corruption ", Pekić said.
As he said, the IPO will, in the coming period, focus on education, especially of young people, to get them closer to what the intelligence and security services of Montenegro are, how to decide on that job in time, telling them the advantages and disadvantages and teaching them that you should work honestly and do your best in the fight against organized crime and high corruption.
Aida Petrović, representative of the Montenegrin Women's Lobby, pointed out that when it comes to organized crime, the phenomenon of human trafficking cannot be avoided.
"Unfortunately, this phenomenon has not bypassed Montenegro either. The scope and characteristics of human trafficking are almost impossible to determine, because there are various statistics at the international level. It varies not from year to year, but from day to day," said Petrović.
She pointed out that cybercrime, prostitution and pornography are "flourishing" on the Internet and young people and children are particularly affected by this.
"Trafficking in human beings, as a serious crime against human beings and a serious violation of all human rights in a chain of organized criminal acts, is, unfortunately, a good organization of criminals, who, for the sake of profit, know no obstacles. State authorities must cooperate much more and better, as among itself, as well as with civil sector organizations and citizens if the goal is for the fight against human trafficking to be successful and efficient, and the results good and measurable," said Petrović.
Neđeljko Đurović, professor of the group of legal subjects, noticed that the fact that there is insufficient participation in the decision-making process is often overlooked, "and we from the NGO sector always point out how important it is to organize adequate public hearings and, when it comes to the local level, to include as much level as possible citizenship".
"What is often neglected is the education of councilors at the local level, and I think that even when it comes to our deputies, a comprehensive education on the issue of corruption, i.e. prevention and recognition of these forms, would play a significant role," Đurović pointed out.
He concluded that no official interdepartmental analysis has ever been carried out in Montenegro on the scope, methods of corrupt actions and analysis of the economic impact, both at the local and state level.
Đurović believes that the education of certain members of the Police Administration would significantly enable activities to be improved.
The journalist of Television Vijesti, Svetlana Đokić, pointed out that the recipe for victory against organized crime and corruption is simple, which is the right people in the right places and the absolute cooperation of everyone involved in the task.
"For good results, in addition to independence and will, it is necessary to have staff who are specialized in certain areas. It is precisely the lack of staff that is one of the key problems due to which recognizable results have not been achieved so far, when it comes to the fight against corruption at a high level. If there are no expert persons who will recognize the elements of criminal acts, if there are no those who are expert enough to recognize what evidence needs to be collected and what evidence is relevant to the initiation of an investigation and what evidence is sufficient for a conviction, then we cannot expect to make progress in this fight ", Đokić thinks.
Representatives of the security services, prosecutor's office and the judiciary have undergone many trainings, but he believes that this is not enough and that it is necessary to strengthen their capacities not only with technical equipment, but also with human resources.
Doctor of Security Sciences, Ljubiša Konatar, believes that organized crime is a multi-layered, multi-dimensional political phenomenon.
"There are big challenges before every country, including Montenegro, how to deal with this phenomenon. The harmful effects of organized criminal activity are multiple and form a wide array. If they were collected in three groups, then those harmful consequences would be reflected in the human, economic and security dimension. First of all, serious and honest political intention is needed to oppose this phenomenon," Konatar said.
The state prosecutor in front of the Special State Prosecutor's Office (SDT), Vukas Radonjić, pointed out that all state bodies are obliged to provide assistance to the state prosecutor when it comes to prosecuting criminals and collecting evidence and clues.
"The common interest of all of us is to protect society from the most serious crimes. Cooperation between all entities and the support that the state provides to the Special State Prosecutor's Office and the Special Police Department as the main bearers of that fight are very important. However, of course, this cooperation must be improved through training personnel, within all authorities," Radonjić pointed out.
He believes that it is important to include the international factor, because organized crime is committed on all continents and it is important to take on the experiences of developed countries.
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