MOSTAR, Sept 17 (Hina) - The European Union Police Mission (EUPM) to Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday announced cutbacks in local police forces as a measure to curb budget spending for the police.
MOSTAR, Sept 17 (Hina) - The European Union Police Mission (EUPM) to
Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday announced cutbacks in local police
forces as a measure to curb budget spending for the police. #L#
The spokeswoman for the EUPM office in Mostar, Kirsten Haupt,
stated that the current force of 17,000 policemen in both entities
was higher than in any other Western European country given the
number of inhabitants.
The spokeswoman said that it was still not certain just how severe
the cutbacks would be. According to unofficial information, the
number of police officers should be the same as the number of
soldiers once the reform of the country's armed forces is
completed. Official sources earlier stated that once the reform of
the entities' armies was completed, there would be around 12,000
soldiers in the whole country.
As the number of police is decreased, co-operation between the
entities in the exchange of intelligence information will be
enhanced with the aim of fighting organised crime, Haupt said,
adding that crime-intelligence departments had been set up in both
entities.
(hina) sp rml