ZAGREB, August 23, 2018 - A report on last year's activities of law enforcement authorities, which was submitted to the government by Interior Minister Davor Božinović on Thursday, concludes that the security situation in Croatia is very good.
The report contains an overview of important projects and achievements by the Interior Ministry (MUP) and a review of police activities organised in the police directorate at the national level and 20 police departments, the ministry reports.
One of the significant results noted in the report is the partial reorganisation of the ministry. "In the context of suppressing terrorism, use of data resources and maintaining a favourable situation regarding IT and cybernetic security, it is important to point out the establishment of the office for air passenger information system and the cybernetic security service, thus boosting crime police capacities," the report notes.
The report also notes a decrease in the number of crimes recorded – 83,047 or 3% less than the year before, "subsequent to intensifying a proactive manner in police work and strengthening preventative activities."
Božinović underscored that it was particularly significant that Croatia has accessed the Schengen Information System (SIS). "By the end of 2017, that is, just six months of accessing the system, Croatia achieved exceptional results and was among the top five member states according to the number of persons and objects identified that were being searched for via SIS. Furthermore, all available institutional, financial and administrative capacities have been invested in order to reach the standard of development of border crossings and facilities to accommodate irregular migrants and asylum seekers, technical equipping and training of border police."
With regard to controlling the state borders and efforts to prevent people smuggling, Božinović underlined that Croatia's police have strengthened all their capacities in border areas.
"Despite an insignificant increase in the number of crossings of the state border compared to 2016, well-managed and coordinated police actions helped increase the registration of the number of crimes related to illegal crossings twofold. In 2017, there were 365 cases recorded, which is an increase of 134%, which also indicates the pro-active work of the police regarding migrant smuggling," the report notes.
