ZAGREB, 17 Sept 2021 - The riot police force is celebrating 20 years since its establishment and in addition to officials from the Ministry of the Interior and Police Directorate, the director of Germany's riot police, Andreas Backhof, attended the celebrations in Zagreb on Friday.

Croatia's riot police force was established on the German model.

Inspector Backhof said that Croatia's riot police meet European standards at a very high level. He underscored that other countries seek advice from Croatia's police when establishing their own police units, which, he said, deserves great respect and recognition, the Ministry said in a press release.

"We have stood and will stand by you, with advice, action and support - all this time we have been learning from you too. We have not only maintained our partnership on an equal footing but have developed friendly relations based on mutual respect and trust," said Backhof.

Interior Ministry state-secretary Irena Petrijevčanin Vuksanović said that compared to previous years, the need to involve riot police in various daily tasks had increased and the scope of their duties had significantly expanded.

Police Director-General Nikola Milina thanked all members of the riot police unit, underscoring that along with the special police unit, riot police conduct the most difficult duties. He recalled that the riot police actively participate in a wide range of police activities, emphasising their engagement in the protection of Croatia's border - the longest external EU border.

The ministry recalled that in addition to their regular duties riot police participate in complex criminal-tactical situations such as police hunts, inspections of premises, ambushes, raids, road blockades, etc.

Riot police are also called in in cases of general danger caused by natural disasters and in all other situations where the presence of a large number of police officers trained to conduct teamwork is required, the ministry said.

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