Vucic on Police Day: not a single unsolved murder
At the ceremony in the Palace of Serbia the president announced a major pay rise and new equipment and vowed he would not let the police be humiliated.
- A ceremony marking the Day of the Interior Ministry and Police Day was held on May 31 in the Palace of Serbia.
- Vucic said there is not a single unsolved murder in Serbia this year.
- He announced a significant pay rise for all MUP personnel and new equipment.
- The president said he would not allow the police to be humiliated.
President of Serbia Aleksandar Vucic attended the ceremony marking the Day of the Interior Ministry and Police Day on May 31, held in the Palace of Serbia. Before the assembled officers of the MUP he announced a significant rise in salaries and the modernization of equipment, and singled out as a key result that Serbia has no unsolved murders left this year.
Alongside the president, the ceremony was attended by First Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Ivica Dacic, Prime Minister Djuro Macut and Police Director Dragan Vasiljevic. The event took place at a moment when the powers and standing of the police, following the Senjak case, sit at the center of public debate.
What did Vucic say about pay and equipment?
The president announced that wages in the Interior Ministry will rise significantly and that the state will not cut corners on equipping its services. He said procurement and the renewal of hardware are planned for all formations, including the Special Anti-Terrorist Unit, the Gendarmerie and the Police Brigade.
- a significant pay rise for all MUP personnel
- new and renewed equipment for the SAJ, Gendarmerie and Police Brigade
- continued modernization of hardware and vehicles
The pay announcement came with an assessment of the role of the police within the system. Vucic addressed what he called attempts to strip the police of certain powers and said the MUP must not become a service of the prosecution. In that context he delivered the sharpest message of the gathering.
For as long as I have a say, I will not allow the police to be humiliated.
How should the claim about unsolved murders be read?
As the police force’s greatest result the president cited statistics on solved cases. In his words, there is not a single unsolved murder this year, which he presented as proof of the service’s efficiency and as an argument against attempts to narrow its powers.
The great result is that this year there is not a single unsolved murder.
The message landed at a sensitive moment. The Senjak case and statements from the top of government about the role of individual figures in it continue to weigh on the relationship between the police and the prosecution, so the president’s words about powers and the independence of the service carry a wider political context than the ceremony itself. The opposition has argued the opposite for years, that the police are under political pressure, while the authorities insist on results and figures.
Does the message that the MUP must not be a service of the prosecution strengthen police independence, or does it open the question of where one institution ends and the other begins?
