Newsroom
OSCE Mission and Serbian Ministry of Interior hold regional conference on organized crime
BELGRADE 16 December 2004
BELGRADE, 16 December 2004 - Improving the exchange of operational information and advancing regional co-operation in the fight against organized crime, particularly in drug smuggling, was the focus of a two-day conference that ended yesterday in Belgrade.
Organized by the Ministry of Interior of Republic of Serbia and supported by the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro, the two-day event was entitled "Intensifying Co-operation and Improving Information Exchange in the Area of Suppression of Drug Smuggling on the Balkan Route".
Law enforcement experts from Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Norway, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia, Republika Srpska and Romania, as well as OSCE experts, agreed that they need to intensify co-operation in the Balkans, especially through the regular exchange of operational information.
"Professionals can quickly identify common interests and this helps to combat organized crime," said Srbislav Randelovic, Advisor to the Serbian National Police Commissioner.
Douglas Wake, Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro, said: "Co-operation among law enforcement agencies at the regional level is crucial to effectively combat drug trafficking and other forms of transnational crime. Organized crime is not the problem of one single country - it is global. Criminals are becoming more sophisticated, so law enforcement agencies must work together to adjust to the changing crime environment".
The fight against organized crime has been marked as one of the priority areas for police reform in Serbia and the OSCE Mission continues to play an active role in helping to implement changes.
Organized by the Ministry of Interior of Republic of Serbia and supported by the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro, the two-day event was entitled "Intensifying Co-operation and Improving Information Exchange in the Area of Suppression of Drug Smuggling on the Balkan Route".
Law enforcement experts from Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Norway, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia, Republika Srpska and Romania, as well as OSCE experts, agreed that they need to intensify co-operation in the Balkans, especially through the regular exchange of operational information.
"Professionals can quickly identify common interests and this helps to combat organized crime," said Srbislav Randelovic, Advisor to the Serbian National Police Commissioner.
Douglas Wake, Deputy Head of the OSCE Mission to Serbia and Montenegro, said: "Co-operation among law enforcement agencies at the regional level is crucial to effectively combat drug trafficking and other forms of transnational crime. Organized crime is not the problem of one single country - it is global. Criminals are becoming more sophisticated, so law enforcement agencies must work together to adjust to the changing crime environment".
The fight against organized crime has been marked as one of the priority areas for police reform in Serbia and the OSCE Mission continues to play an active role in helping to implement changes.