Police Perceptions of Discrimination in Serbia

Abstract

One of the key requirements of a democratic society is the absence of police discrimination. Discriminatory treatment by the police is a challenge in many societies, and every society that wishes to be truly democratic, should aim to keep police discrimination to an absolute minimum and continuously work on its elimination. One step toward this is studying the perceptions and understanding that police have toward discrimination to enable the most effective preventive measures to any discriminatory behaviour they may exhibit. This paper presents the results of a study conducted on the attitudes of police officers toward discrimination in the Republic of Serbia. This research focused on the recognition of the meaning of discrimination and awareness of the presence of discrimination in Serbian society by police officers, the level of police social and ethnic distance toward different groups, police perceptions as to the influence and responsibility that public and social institutions can have in provoking discrimination, as well as the existence and acceptance of prejudice among police officers in Serbia.