OSCE Mission to Skopje presents results of a survey on police work

The OSCE Mission to Skopje presented the final results of its Mayors Perception Survey on the work of the police, conducted in co-operation with the Association of Municipalities (ZELS) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, on 8 December 2011.

The survey, conducted in June and July 2011, complements the Mission’s bi-annual community policing survey, and aims to gauge the opinion of the country’s mayors about the work of the police in their respective municipalities, as well as about the effectiveness of municipal-police co-operation.

“Co-operation between the local police and the municipalities is essential for the effective functioning of community policing mechanisms and for increasing the overall security and well-being of the country’s citizens. This survey has helped to evaluate the effectiveness of the community policing mechanisms in order to identify possible gaps and recommendations for future activities,” said the Head of OSCE Mission to Skopje, Ambassador Ralf Breth.

Interior Minister Gordana Jankullovska added: “The results of the survey show that the Ministry of Internal Affairs is on the right path in implementing the community policing concept in the country, but, at the same time we are also required to intensify joint efforts in prevention activities.”

“This OSCE-supported survey shows that the majority of mayors support the work of the Local Prevention Councils. This is confirmed by the fact that these councils have been established in almost all municipalities countrywide. Their work is particularly important for the co-operation of the local authorities with the police and helps make citizen-public partnerships even stronger,” said ZELS president Koce Trajanovski.

The Mission has been actively involved in promoting, establishing and consolidating the community policing concept in the country since 2001.