Police Review, 11 April 2003, pp. 20-22.

Policing the peace 

Rebuilding a police service in countries ravaged by war is no simple task, but one British police officers are experienced at doing. Here Tim Tapley of Sussex Police describes his work in Croatia and, over the page, the Met's Janice McClean looks at challenges she will face in Bosnia

In November 1991, the small town of Vukovar in southern Croatia fell to Yugoslav forces after a three-month siege. More than 200 people were taken from the town's hospital, driven to a remote farm outside the town and shot. It was one of the worst atrocities committed in four-and-a-half years of Balkan wars. Croatia did not have its own army at the time - the only disciplined body capable of fighting the Yugoslav forces was the Croatian police force. 
When peace finally took hold, police officers were regarded as heroes by many, but the legacy of the conflict was to instil a militaristic mindset in many officers, which now sets the police apart from the community.
Twelve years on, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe is working alongside the Croatian government to build bridges between the Croatian police and the public. Since May last year, I have been seconded to the organisation and working in Croatia with the aim of changing officers’ mindsets and encouraging them to become a police service as opposed to a force.

Emotions are still raw - there is widespread discrimination and ethnic-motivated crime is not even categorised, let alone dealt with effectively. 

Community policing 
Upon arrival in Croatia last year, I was met with widespread support for the introduction of community policing, although there were misconceptions on what the concept entailed. I am now liaising closely with a team from Sussex Police, who are reviewing the way the Sussex force operates. Although there is a gulf of difference between the environments, the measures implemented in Sussex have the potential to radically transform the Croatian police service. 

It would not be appropriate for policing in Croatia to mirror that in Sussex. There are significant cultural differences. The educational level of officers in Croatia is generally low and the public expectation of the police role currently bears little resemblance to that in Britain. 

This last factor particularly interests me. The concept of a publicly accountable service is alien to the community and to many of the longer serving officers. In contrast, the Croatian government is committed to introducing major reforms to change the mindsets of officers and the public.
Transforming the service
Ken Jones, chief constable of Sussex Police, spearheads the drive for change in this force. Despite the myriad of differences in culture, funding, equipment and the quality of officers, Mr Jones's vision and that of Ranko Ostojic, the director general of the Croatian police service, is not radically different. Both are implementing measures designed to bring their officers closer to the public and improve performance.
The Croatian government now accepts that giving far more autonomy to the 21 chief officers is not a threat to the government's authority, but has the potential to transform the service into a performance regime and start the process of building bridges with the community. The current challenge facing the Croatian government is encouraging and training its senior officers to use the new authority provided. This is no small task and the problem it is facing is part of the former Yugoslavia's legacy: officers of all ranks await orders before taking action; the use of initiative and creativity by anyone outside the Ministry of Interior has never been encouraged and the concept of localised problem-solving is alien. To combat these problems, officers' mindsets must be changed.
Preaching the message of reform is of limited value. It is far more powerful to demonstrate, firsthand, the benefits of a different system. With this in mind, funding was obtained from the British embassy in Zagreb and, last September, Sussex Police hosted a visit for two senior Croatian officers, the equivalent of assistant chief constables in Britain.
The itinerary was designed so the officers would have the opportunity to discuss the benefits of various techniques used in Sussex, which were designed to enhance a trusting relationship between the community and the police. The two officers then discussed I those elements of British policing they thought would be suitable for introduction in their own country. What struck home was that many of the concepts we take for granted were completely alien to the Croatian officers.
The two Croatian officers walked the beat with two community officers from Chichester. They witnessed the interaction between the officers and the public and how the beat officers tailored their efforts to problems specific to certain areas. The Croatian officers were amazed that a beat officer was empowered to liaise with other agencies, seek funding and implement projects designed to resolve local problems.
One of the Croatian officers, Ivan Groznica, is head of uniform police for the 2,200 strong county force of Vukovar-Sirmium. He says: 'I was surprised to see how much trust is given to officers and how they are obviously seen as part of the community. The community here does a lot to protect itself, but that does not happen in Croatia.’
Protecting minorities
A visit was also organised to the community safety unit at Crawley and the Langley Green Islamic Centre, where they met leaders from the centre who discussed the importance of the police's role in providing a feeling of safety among local minority populations. They also discussed mechanisms used to reduce local tensions.
Damir Takac, the other visiting Croatian officer, who serves with the 3,000 strong force of Osijek-Baranja, says: 'I can see that this is working here in Sussex. Croatia has many problems; it will take a complete change of mindset for many Croatian officers to believe in the benefits of such close consultations.’

What became apparent during this visit was that while these officers were senior in rank and influential in their respective forces, they had little concept of proactive policing. Years of working within a rigid, centralised hierarchy had reinforced their conviction that the role of the police was to react.
The issue of minority rights is particularly pertinent in current-day Croatia, where the minority Serb population represents less than five per cent of the total population. This is in contrast to a 12 per cent representation before the war. The Serb minority faces an types of discrimination and will not generally approach the police for help.

One of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe's main objectives is assisting the Croatian government in creating favourable conditions for the return of Serbs displaced by the war. This requires trust, not only between the police and the Serb minority, but with as many local agencies as possible.
The Croatian government is encouraging its police to become more active in the communities and form local partnership groups, which will focus on problems specific to local communities. 

Moving forward 
The concept of community policing is in its infancy in Croatia, but the government is supportive of widespread change and is identifying legislative barriers to partnership activity.
It is still illegal for agencies to share information in Croatia. In contrast to Britain, Croatia has too many officers, although it is widely recognised that officers' educational levels are inadequate and that many are unwilling to take on a decision-making role.
Croatia hopes to join the European Union as soon as possible. Before being accepted as a member, it must pay special attention to minority rights and the concepts underlying community policing are seen as being instrumental to achieving this.
Without doubt, this has been the most challenging year of my service. Working in a different culture makes you challenge your own beliefs. Recommending changes to legislation and working practices is an interesting task, but being part of the process of changing mindsets is incredibly rewarding. It was not until I viewed British policing from a distance, that I realised just how much we are doing that makes a difference. British officers are seen as role models by their international colleagues. I only wish my colleagues in Britain were reminded of this more often. 
Insp Tim Tapley of Sussex Police was on secondment to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)