Belgrade city authorities to raise number of Communal Militia officers

NEWS 10.03.202017:55
Beoinfo

Belgrade’s deputy Mayor Goran Vesic said on Tuesday that the city would increase its communal militia (police) by 150 officers this year.

“Belgrade currently has 340 Communal Militia officiers and we brought in 60 recently and are planning to bring in another 150 officers, giving the city almost 500 officers in that service,” Vesic is quoted as saying in a press release.  

The Communal Militia (formerly Communal Police) are a local force in charge of keeping order in communal affairs with some powers overlapping regular police powers such as access to citizens’ personal data. They can levy fines and make arrests. The force has been criticized in the past for alleged corruption and excessive use of force and is alleged to be a ruling party security formation.  

Vesic said that the larger number of Communal Militia personnel would make the city safer and added that outposts would be opened in the outlying municipalities of Obrenovac and Mladenovac.