Law enforcement in Croatia

Police powers

Police powers are actually a set of rights that the police can, under the conditions prescribed by law, use in certain situations.

With regard to their meaning, police powers are prescribed by the Police Act, namely by the method of exhaustive standardization (enumeration) and they are:

• checking and establishing the identity of persons and objects,

• summoning,

• bringing,

• searching for persons and objects,

• temporary restriction of freedom of movement,

• giving warnings and orders,

• temporary confiscation of objects,

• polygraph testing,

• inspection of premises, premises, facilities and documentation,

• inspection of persons, objects and means of transport,

• security and inspection of the scene,

• receipt of reports,

• public announcement of awards,

• filming in public places,

• use of means of coercion,

• protection of victims of crime and other persons,

• collection, processing and use of personal data.

There are four points or situations when the police are allowed to open fire. The police may discharge their firearm in**:**

• necessary defence (protection of one's own life or the life of another person)
• last resort (elimination of an impending unculpable danger to one's own and others' lives that cannot be eliminated otherwise),
• preventing the escape or arrest of the perpetrator of a serious crime (acts punishable by at least 10 years)
• preventing the escape of a person who has escaped from serving a prison sentence for which a prison sentence of at least ten years is prescribed, and the escape cannot be prevented in any other way.

Organization

The General Police Directorate () is an administrative organization of the Ministry of the Interior constituted for conducting police affairs. The General Police Directorate is responsible for:

• screening and analysis of the state of security and developments leading to the emergence and development of crime;
• harmonization, guidance and supervision over the work of Police Directorates and Police Administrations;
• immediate participation in particular more complex operations of Police Directorates and Police Administrations;
• providing for the implementation of the international agreements on police cooperation and other international acts under the competence of the General Police Directorate;
• organizing and conducting of criminal forensics operations;
• setting the prerequisites for the efficient work of the Police Academy;
• adopting of standards for the equipment and technical means;
• setting the prerequisites for the police readiness to act in the state of emergency.

General Police Directorate is headed by General Police Director ().

There are the following organization forms within General Police Directorate:

• Police Directorate (Uprava policije)
• Criminal Police Directorate (Uprava kriminalističke policije)
• Border Police Directorate (Uprava za granicu)
• Command of Special Police (Zapovjedništvo specijalne policije)
• Operational Communication Centre (Operativno–komunikacijski centar policije)
• Forensic Centre (Centar za kriminalistička vještačenja)
• Police Academy (Policijska akademija)
• Special Security Affairs Directorate (Uprava za posebne poslove sigurnosti)

For immediate conducting of police affairs there are 20 Police Administrations (policijske uprave) divided into four categories, which cover the territory of the Republic of Croatia according to the organization of units of local self-government (counties or županije).

Police stations are established for direct police and other affairs in each Police Administration.

Border control

Croatia has had an external border with the Schengen area since the accession of the country to the EU. As part of the major migration movements from 2015, Croatia became part of the so-called Balkan route. The European Border Agency Frontex has a small mission in Croatia to assist the police at various border crossings. In July 2018 Frontex organized the air reconnaissance of the border with Bosnia with a reconnaissance aircraft as part of the Frontex 'Multipurpose Aerial Surveillance (MAS). The aircraft transmit moving images of remote sensing cameras in real time to the Frontex Situation Center (FSC) in Warsaw, Poland. In 2023, Croatia became a Schengen Zone member state.

Critics

For several times NGOs report, that the Croatian police illegally and arbitrarily deport refugees to Bosnia-Herzegovina, i.e. from the EU (push-backs). It would come again and again to attacks by the Croatian officials on the refugees.

Ranks

Regular Police (''Temeljna policija'')

Intervention Police (''Interventna policija'')

Special Police (''Specijalna policija'')

Equipment

Firearms

Vehicles

Most vehicles in the Croatian police fleet are acquired through leasing agreements, which typically last three to five years. This approach allows the Ministry of the Interior to maintain a modern and technologically up-to-date fleet without large upfront expenditures. At the end of each lease term, vehicles are returned and replaced with new models, resulting in frequent rotation of patrol cars, vans, and motorcycles. Leasing also often includes maintenance and service provisions, reducing operational burdens. Consequently, the police fleet is regularly updated with vehicles such as Škoda Octavia patrol cars, Ford Focus sedans, BMW motorcycles, and Mercedes-Benz or Volkswagen transport vans, ensuring consistent operational readiness across all police units.

Ministry of Interior also operates a large number of unmarked vehicles assigned to government officials and for other uses, all in black variant and they are mostly Audi A8, Audi A6, Volkswagen Caravelle, Toyota Land Cruiser.

Helicopters

Controversies

According to human rights organizations, Croatian police has been accused of overt and, generally unpunished, brutality. Amnesty international has issued a detailed report on the allegations of torture of refugees and migrants, while the Human Rights Watch has criticized the organization impunity of violence and unlawful pushbacks at their borders.

In 2021, the Border Violence Monitoring Network published a report into the use of torture and inhuman treatment during pushbacks by Croatian police. They assert that:

• 87% of pushbacks carried out by Croatian authorities contained one or more forms of violence and abuse that we assert amounts to torture or inhuman treatment
• Unmuzzled police dogs were encouraged by Croatian officers to attack people who were detained
• Croatian officers forcibly undressed people, setting fire to their clothes and pushed them back across international borders in a complete state of undress

Notes

References

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3. "Naslovna".
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5. "not found".
6. "Zakon o policijskim poslovima i ovlastima".
7. "Organizational Scheme".
8. (30 November 2018). "Frontex arrests people smugglers in Croatia".
9. "Croatia police accused of abusing refugees | DW | 16.08.2018".
10. "Menschenrechtler beklagen: Kroatien schiebt Migranten nach Bosnien ab - ZDFmediathek".
11. (31 May 2018). "Kroatien: Polizei schießt auf Kleinbus mit illegalen Migranten". Die Welt.
12. "Javna nabava".
13. "Policijski vozni park zanovljen za 522 vozila s policijskim obilježjima".
14. "Ministar Božinović na primopredaji prvih 50 vozila s policijskim obilježjima iz kontingenta 522 vozila za policiju".
15. "Policija predstavila svoje nove službene automobile: Ford Focus limuzine s dizelskim motorima".
16. "Ministar Božinović na primopredaji 35 vozila nabavljenih putem Nacionalnog plana sigurnosti cestovnog prometa".
17. "Ministar Božinović na primopredaji 166 vozila za temeljnu i interventnu policiju".
18. "Preuzimanje sustava termovizijskih kamera na prikolicama i terenskih vozila".
19. "'Mitsubishi nije prošao jer nije zadovoljio uvjete'".
20. "Ministar predao ključeve 60 novih vozila za nadzor državne granice".
21. "Za prometnu policiju nabavljen 31 najmoderniji motocikl".
22. "Obilježena 30. obljetnica VRO Bljesak u Okučanima: Bila je to briljantna operacija".
23. "Zagrebački Tehnički muzej otkrio rijetku snimku svojeg mobiliziranog eksponata koji je u ratu bio naoružan raketama".
24. "Stigao još jedan policijski helikopter za nadzor granice".
25. "Kupuju se helikopteri za civilnu zaštitu".
26. "VIDEO: Ministar Božinović: „Ovim helikopterima otvaramo novu stranicu u sustavu zaštite i spašavanja“".
27. (2020-06-11). "Croatia: Fresh evidence of police abuse and torture of migrants and asylum-seekers".
28. (2021-03-05). "Witness: "If You Scream, They Will Beat You More"". Human Rights Watch.
29. "Annual Torture Report 2020 – Border Violence Monitoring Network".