Is the reform modelled on other European countries? Is the centralization of police forces its main objective?
During six months of intense work, the Police Restructuring Commission studied the policing systems of several European countries, including the Belgian system. In Belgium we undertook our own police restructuring a number of years ago. Different European countries favour more or less centralised systems, but the reform proposed for BiH incorporates elements common to most European policing systems. These elements were outlined by the European Union, and the PRC proposal follows the three key elements for the police reform. First, competence for all police legislative and budgetary matters must be vested at the State level. Second, local policing is carried out in local areas designed on the basis of functional police criteria, not politics. And finally, the future system must protect the police against improper political interference. These are the requirements of the European Union and the minimum basis for a functional system capable of fighting crime effectively across BiH. However
