The Republic of Srpska

Today, on the premises of ‘Desanka Maksimović’ Primary School in Prijedor, the members of the Republic of Srpska Ministry of the Interior participated in the central event of marking the International Month of Fighting against Addiction Diseases, organized by the Commission for countering the abuse of narcotic drugs of the Republic of Srpska. At the press conference that marked the beginning of the event, the head of Prijedor Police Administration, Mr Dalibor Ivanić, said that, in the last three years, significant results of police officers in detecting criminal offences in the field of the abuse of narcotic drugs had been recorded. He said that, in 2017, in the Republic of Srpska, 177 kg of marijuana had been seized, and that, in the first 10 months of this year, the rate of solved criminal cases was 34% higher than in the same period previous year. ‘So far, 148 kg of marijuana were seized’, he said. The President of the Commission for countering the abuse of narcotic drugs of the Republic of Srpska, dr Milan Latinović, said that 6% of 15-year-olds in the Republic of Srpska used drugs, which put us among the countries where the percentage of minor drug users was low. He added that 70% of minors consumed alcohol. The President said that, in addition to educating students, educating teaching staff and parents was also important, and added that new research, performed in 35 countries in Europe, was planned for 2019 in order to compare the obtained results. As a part of the central event, the works of students of ‘Desanka Maksimović’ Primary School were presented as well as the play whose title is ‘Dangers of Addiction Diseases’. The members of the Ministry performed a tactical-demonstration exercise where they presented the activities of police officers regarding the detection of narcotic drugs by using dogs especially trained in detecting drugs. Furthermore, and exhibition basket game between the police officers and students of ‘Desanka Maksimović’ Primary School took place, and then Prijedor Community Health Centre presented their activities. The Month of Fighting against Addiction Diseases is marked over the period from 15 November to 15 December, and this year, under the motto ‘The game you always lose’. Related to this, activities are planned on the territories of all police administrations. These activities are directed towards educating citizens, especially young citizens, on negative consequences of using narcotic drugs and other addiction diseases.