The Committee for Citizen Complaints of the Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina received 105 complaints during the nine months of this year, and the largest number of complaints related to the actions of police officers of the BiH Border Police.
A total of 93 complaints were received about the work and behavior of police officers of the BiH Border Police, seven complaints about the work and behavior of police officers of the Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies of BiH, and five complaints about the work and behavior of SIPA police officers.
In the indicated period, as stated by that institution, the Committee for Citizen Complaints considered 98 complaints and reports from competent police agencies at its sessions, including 15 complaints about the work and behavior of police officers of the BiH Border Police that were received at the end of 2022.
“Complaints filed against the work and actions of police officers of the Directorate for the Coordination of Police Bodies of BiH and SIPA mainly refer to unprofessional behavior and abuse of official position,” said the Appeals Committee.
When it comes to complaints about the work and behavior of police officers of the BiH Border Police, those complaints mostly relate to the length of waiting at border crossings.
“Citizens complain about the manner in which border controls and checks are carried out, unprofessional behavior, inappropriate and unprofessional communication by police officers when performing official actions, highlighting state symbols at crossing points, crossing the state border by minors with valid passports, personal conflicts, and to a lesser extent, complaints that have elements of corrupt activities of police officers,” the Committee explains.
Out of the total number of reviewed appeals, 14 cases were found to be well-founded, namely in three cases against police officers of the Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies of BiH, and in 11 cases of complaints against police officers of the Border Police of BiH.
In all cases, disciplinary procedures were implemented or initiated. The Committee for Citizen Complaints monitors the completion of all procedures, and requires from the competent police agencies information on the outcome of disciplinary procedures, which must necessarily contain information on the type and amount of disciplinary sanctions, if the same has been imposed.
In nine cases, the Committee for Citizens’ Complaints returned reports to the competent police agencies with instructions to provide additional information and produce additional evidence, after which the cases were reconsidered.
In two cases, the Board issued recommendations to the management of the competent police agencies on the measures that need to be taken in order to eliminate certain irregularities, which were observed based on citizens’ complaints.
In one case, the Board requested the suspension of a police officer, because according to the assessment of the Board members, the legal requirements for the same were met.
