Individual Corruption

Serbia has approximately 43,000 police officers which come under the authority of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The police are divided into four main departments that supervise 33 regional secretariats reporting to the national government, according to US State Department 2009.

According to Transparency International's Global Corruption Barometer 2010, citizens perceive the police to be corrupt. For more information on police corruption in Serbia, see the US Department of State 2009. During 2008 there were reports of police corruption and impunity, according to the same report. The government did address many of these reports.

Business Corruption

According to the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011, while companies identify the level of crime, violence and organised crime in Serbia to constitute a significant competitive disadvantage, they also see the protection of police from crime as unreliable. On the other hand, a relatively low percentage of companies surveyed in the World Bank & IFC Enterprise Surveys 2009 identify crime, theft and disorder as major constraints for doing business.

Political Corruption

Corruption within the Serbian Police Force remains a major problem according to the Transparency International Global Corruption Barometer 2010. Some types of corruption, such as bribery and fraud, are less widespread among police officers than political corruption, i.e. abuses arising from interference by politicians, parties and public officials. There have been examples according to CMI Corruption in Serbia 2007 of top positions in the police being given to prominent members of political parties, regardless of their qualifications. Serbian politics is rife with links to organised crime. As a result, police work is often obstructed.

In 2006, proceedings were initiated by the government against 53 members of the 'Highway Mafia', a police toll racket that caused EUR 6.5 million in losses. In 2008, 41 members were sentenced for a total of 131 years. See more on police corruption as reported by the US Department of State 2009.

Frequency

World Economic Forum: Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011:
- Business executives give the reliability of the Serbian police services to enforce law and order a score of 3.6 on a 7-point scale (1 being 'cannot be relied upon at all' and 7 'can always be relied upon').

Transparency International: Global Corruption Barometer 2010:
- 14.8% of households who had contact with the police in 2009 report to have paid a bribe.

The World Bank & IFC: Enterprise Surveys 2009:
- Almost 12% of companies surveyed identify crime, theft and disorder as a major constraint on doing business.

EBRD & World Bank: BEEPS Serbia 2005:
- Companies report that they were inspected by the municipal police an average of 1.4 times the previous year, with the average duration of these inspections lasting 50 minutes.