Contribution of the police negotiating team to the protection of human rights in specific security situations

Abstract

Legal right of police to use force, especially firearms, makes modern police mission seem inconsistent: in order to protect the rights of one, the police must limit the rights of others, which raises the question of optimal measures between these opposites. The most dangerous is the police action which encroaches on the right to life, thus indirectly interfering in other human rights. This applies equally to both citizens and the offenders. In an effort to minimize the possibility of eroding the right to life, the modern police forces have developed mechanisms of so-called police negotiating. Respecting the principles of legality, humanity and expertise, members of the of specialized police units engage in negotiations with the most dangerous criminals in order to prevent them in further criminal intent on one hand and in order to solve the crisis without the use of police force, on the other. In addition a notable involvement of police negotiators in prevention of suicide attempts has been observed. In this regard, the paper explores the contribution of the negotiating team of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia to the protection of human rights in Serbia in the period 2005. - 2010.

Zakonsko pravo policije da upotrebi silu, posebno vatreno oružje, čini misiju savremenih policija protivrečnom: da bi zaštitila prava jednih, policija mora da ograničava prava drugih, što nameće pitanje optimalne mere između navedenih suprotnosti. Najopasnije je delovanje policije kojim se zadire u pravo na život, čime se posredno zadire i u druga ljudska prava. Ovo se podjednako odnosi kako na građane, tako i na izvršioce krivičnih dela. Nastojeći da minimiziraju mogućnost narušavanja prava na život, savremene policije su razvile mehanizme tzv. policijskog pregovaranja. Uvažavajući principe zakonitosti, humanosti i stručnosti, pripadnici specijalizovanih pregovaračkih jedinica angažuju se u pregovaranju sa najopasnijim kriminalcima ne bi li ih sprečili u daljim kriminalnim namerama, s jedne, i ne bi li krizne situacije rešili bez upotrebe sredstava policijske prinude, s druge strane. Osim toga, zapaženo je i angažovanje policijskih pregovarača povodom sprečavanja pokušaja samoubistava. S tim u vezi, u radu je istražen doprinos Pregovaračkog tima Ministarstva unutrašnjih poslova Republike Srbije zaštiti ljudskih prava u Srbiji, u vremenu od 2005. do 2010. godine.