The Republic of Srpska

Today, in Banja Luka, the Republic of Srpska Police Director, Mr Darko Ćulum, opened a five-day workshop whose title is ‘’Providing Psychological Help and Support – Peer to Peer ‘’ for 25 participants among whom are members of the Republic of Srpska Ministry of the Interior,  Border Police BIH, and Brčko District.Director Ćulum said that every day during their professional careers or when they perform their police duties and tasks, police officers encounter stressful situations such as: performing crime scene investigations where murder or suicide happened, performing investigations of traffic accidents where persons were seriously injured or dead, establishing public peace and order where it is disturbed, using firearms and other means, wounding or death of working colleagues, and others. ‘’This is the model which will be achieved in the Republic of Srpska Ministry of the Interior, ’’ Director Ćulum said and emphasised that implementation of this model would start within the Republic of Srpska Ministry of the Interior after this workshop.Deputy Director General of  the Slovenian Police, Ms Tatjana Bobnar, emphasised that police profession was one of the most stressful professions and that being a police officer was a way of life since everything they experience at work, they ’’ bring it’’ with them to  home and vice versa.‘’We all agree that police officers should have good equipment, appropriate authorisations and protection means in order to perform their work. Furthermore, they also need the system through which help and support would be provided to them if needed’’, Deputy Bobnar said.Jurij Ferme, an expert on Twinning Project ‘’Strengthening Law Enforcement’’, explained that this project was financed by the EU, with the aim of improving police agencies and strengthening cooperation, coordination, and efficiency in countering organised crime, terrorism, and corruption in BIH.‘’Healthy, physically stable, and satisfied police officers are the ones who will perform their responsible work in the manner that citizens will see them as a security service from whom they ask and expect to be protected’’, Ferme pointed out.The workshop is organised within IPA 2012 Project ‘’Strengthening Law Enforcement Capacities’’, component 2.