Legal bases of the police participation in emergency situations

Abstract

Police officers who belong to the General Police Directorate of Republic of Serbia, in addition to the numerous powers and tasks they perform, based on the Law on Police, have the obligation to participate in protection and rescue operations. Besides the aforementioned law, the police are recognized as a part of the protection and rescue forces by the Law on Risk Reduction and Emergency Management. The role of the police in emergency situations is very important, and the scope of work of the police officers is expanding over time and becoming more and more diverse, and thus more complex. The police engages in the execution of tasks aimed at the security protection of citizens’ property and lives, such as rescue and evacuation from endangered areas, providing first aid, delivery of food, medicine, etc.

Policijski službenici, koji pripadaju Direkciji policije Republike Srbije, pored brojnih ovlašćenja i poslova koje obavljaju, na osnovu Zakona o policiji, imaju obavezu da učestvuju i u poslovima zaštite i spasavanja. Pored navedenog Zakona, policija je prepoznata kao deo snaga zaštite i spasavanja i Zakonom o smanjenju rizika i upravljanju vanrednim situacijama. Uloga policije u vanrednim situacijama je veoma značajna, a obuhvat delokruga rada policijskih službenika se vremenom proširuje i postaje sve raznovrsniji, a time i kompleksniji. Policija se angažuje za izvršavanje zadataka usmerenih na bezbednosnu zaštitu imovine i života građana poput spasavanja i evaluacije iz ugroženih područja, pružanje prve pomoći, dostavu hrane, lekova i sl.