Why is it that, when the Democrats are hiring, the number of police officers keeps dropping
Although leaders of the security sector, the Ministry of Interior and the Police Directorate announced that the public call for new police officers would finally resolve the staff shortage, it turned out to be political self-promotion. This is confirmed by data showing that in January alone more than 30 new, young, and educated police officers terminated their contracts, while another 90 are already on their way out of the police force
When politicians speak, reality appears rosy - even when they talk about the boys in blue, the police officers. And when officials of Democratic Montenegro make promises, those promises are immortalized on video and shared on the party’s social media channels.
„We want to restore beat policing! We want to bring back beat officers! Because it is precisely in that target group that I see people who will tomorrow be police officers in neighborhoods, communities, schools, and squares. We want to restore the strength of the state at all levels and in all aspects!“
BEČIĆ’S PERFORMANCE FOR THE PUBLIC…
This is how Aleksa Bečić, Deputy Prime Minister and coordinator of the security sector, thundered on January 23 before Democratic Party activists.
But it was - a performance for the public. In reality, although 366 police officers officially began work at the Police Directorate on January 12, the number of police officers has been shrinking day by day.
And drastically so: according to information obtained by Television E, by January 24 more than 90 young police officers had decided to leave the service they had only just entered. About thirty have already terminated their contracts, while the others have announced they will return their equipment and are awaiting dismissal.
- The trend of terminating employment continues on a daily basis. Some young police officers decided to end their newly established employment because they were assigned outside their place of residence and, with such low salaries, are unable to pay for accommodation for themselves, let alone their families. Others were disappointed by the tasks they were assigned, as well as by the overall atmosphere - sources from the Ministry of Interior told Television E.
…AND THE HARSH REALITY
According to sources from our media outlet, there are two key reasons behind the dissatisfaction of young police officers. First and foremost, the unprofessional attitude of the managerial staff in regional centers and security departments. Additionally, there is a lack of professional care during recruitment and assignment to the organizational units where they received their first deployment decisions.
Renowned Montenegrin lawyer and former senior police officer Veselin Radulović points out that the fact that a significant number of young people left the service immediately after being hired shows that the problem was predictable, but that those in charge chose to ignore it.
- It is clear that it is not enough to simply fill positions on paper and publish what I would call political job postings, while assigning those who are hired to positions mostly outside their place of residence, and with salaries that are not adequate to ensure even basic decent living conditions - Radulović said in an interview with ETV.
He emphasizes that this approach by officials in the Ministry of Interior demonstrates „extremely irresponsible planning and a lack of accountability not only toward those young people who were hired, but also toward all citizens of Montenegro“.
LACK
OF A PROFESSIONAL APPROACH
Disappointed police officers who contacted our media outlet say they were unpleasantly surprised, even shocked, by the atmosphere that awaited them.
- From the very first day of my engagement, a lack of organization was evident, as well as the tendency to leave young officers to fend for themselves. Within the police collective, there is an obvious lack of professional and human attitude toward newly arrived colleagues - said one police officer who terminated his contract with the Police Directorate about ten days ago.
In addition, ETV sources say there were technical problems - shortages of uniforms, work equipment, and basic office supplies; some supervisors even instructed new officers to manage on their own or to purchase the necessary equipment themselves.
Among the police officers who entered and then left the service in an unusually short time are university-educated individuals who saw no future for themselves in such a working environment.
- Instead of these rushed job postings and political marketing we witness almost daily, what is needed is a system that retains people in the service, not one that drives them away in the very first days, once they see the state of the service and who is running it - lawyer Radulović concluded.
A SOLUTION THAT IS - NOT A SOLUTION
However, it is evident that those in charge - Aleksa Bečić, Danilo Šaranović, and other Democratic Party officials - decided that instead of changing their way of working, they would announce yet another job posting.
On the last day of the previous year, the Ministry of Interior published a new public call for the employment of 514 new police officers, which will remain open for 20 days, until January 20, 2026.
That hardly looks like a new strategy - more like a bookmaker’s chant: better luck next time.