Police of North Macedonia Полиција | |
---|---|
Agency overview | |
Formed | 1992 |
Jurisdictional structure | |
National agency | North Macedonia |
Operations jurisdiction | North Macedonia |
Primary governing body | Government of North Macedonia |
Secondary governing body | Ministry of Internal Affairs |
General nature | |
Operational structure | |
Headquarters | Skopje |
Minister responsible | |
Agency executive |
|
Parent agency | Government of North Macedonia |
Child agency | |
Facilities | |
Stations | Skopje, Kumanovo, Shtip, Strumica, Bitola, Ohrid, and Tetovo |
Light vehicles | Chevrolet Spark 100[1] |
Scoters | Sym HD2 200i, Piaggio Beverly 125[2] |
Helicopters | agusta AB206B-2 (1), agusta ab212 (1), bell 412ep (1), mil Mi-171 (1), mil Mi-17V-5 (1) |
Dogs | German Sheppard |
Notables | |
Anniversary |
|
Award |
|
Website | |
www.mvr.gov.mk |
Law enforcement in North Macedonia is the responsibility of the Police of the Republic of North Macedonia (Macedonian: Полиција на Република Северна Македонија, Policija na Republika Severna Makedonija).[4]
The North Macedonian police headquarters are located in Skopje at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and also maintain an air base in nearby Idrizovo. Taiwan, Canada, and Italy have all contributed Bell Helicopter Textron helicopters to the police force's Macedonian Police Aviation Unit in cooperation with the Air Force of North Macedonia to help combat insurgencies the country.[5]
The law enforcement agencies of North Macedonia are regulated by the Constitution of 1991, the Law on Internal Affairs of 1995, the Criminal Procedure Code of 1997 and the Draft Law on Changes and Additions to the Criminal Procedure Code.[6] With police actions and behavior controlled by the Criminal Procedure Code, and the Law on Internal Affairs controlling the use of firearms by the police force. On July 1, 2003 the Law on the Police Academy was enacted, creating a police academy to train civil and border police officers.[7]
The force has been the subject of a number of recent reforms regarding both the Albanian insurgency,[8] and possible violations of human rights,[9][10] with NATO officials stating that the force was "not really up to European standards" as policemen lacked in skills and weapons.[11][12]
History
The Police were subject to scrutiny during Albanian riots on 9 July 1997 when protesters collected in the western town of Gostivar. Over 200 were wounded and three killed (two shot, one beaten to death)[12] in a resulting clash with police riot squads, and the Humans Rights Watch investigated allegations of police brutality.[12] These events underlined a continuing friction between the Macedonian Police force and Albanians living in North Macedonia.[12] The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights reported that police abuse of suspects, particularly during initial arrest and detention, and police harassment of ethnic minorities is ongoing.[13]
The Police of North Macedonia work closely with the NATO peacekeepers in patrolling areas with high numbers of ethnic Albanians ever since the 2001 Macedonia conflict ended, and have been receiving weapons from surrendering Albanian insurgents.[8] Violent attacks, however, still occur as in 2001 three officers were killed by Albanian gunmen.[14]
Organization
Special Police
- Special Operations Unit - Tigers
- Rapid Deployment Unit
- Special Support Unit
- Unit for First Response and Intervention - Alpha
Former
Ground vehicles
- Chevrolet Spark
- Dacia Duster
- Land Rover Defender (used by special forces)
- Škoda Octavia
- Dacia Sandero (Used by Traffic Police) [15]
- Škoda Yeti
- Volkswagen Transporter
- Ssangyong Rexton (border police only)
Former vehicles
- Chrysler Cirrus (retired), 210 were purchased in 2000 and used into the 2010s, averaging more than 500,000 kilometres (310,000 mi) traveled each.[16][17][18][19]
- Jeep Cherokee (retired)
- Mercedes-Benz W124 (retired)
- Volkswagen Polo Mk3 (retired)
Gallery
See also
- Intelligence Agency Domestic intelligence agency
- Administration for Security and Counterintelligence Foreign intelligence agency
- Military Service for Security and Intelligence-G2 Military intelligence agency
References
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-09-30. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) (Macedonian) - ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-04-29.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) (Macedonian) - ^ "ÜDVÖZÖLJÜK HONLAPUNKON".
- ^ "МВР го промени името: Полиција на Република Северна Македонија".
- ^ Aeroflight page Archived 2007-01-19 at the Wayback Machine on the Macedonian Police Aviation Unit, retrieved on May 14, 2007
- ^ Legislation Online article Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine retrieved on May 14, 2007
- ^ Republic of Macedonia Police Academy website Archived 2007-05-14 at the Wayback Machine retrieved on May 14, 2007
- ^ a b BBC News article retrieved on May 14, 2007
- ^ Human rights News article retrieved on May 14, 2007
- ^ Amnesty International article retrieved on May 14, 2007
- ^ The Guardian article retrieved on May 14, 2007
- ^ a b c d MACEDONIA Police Violence in Macedonia Human Rights Watch report retrieved on May 14, 2007
- ^ Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 (MHC) Archived 2007-03-11 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ BBC News article retrieved on May 14, 2007
- ^ "Предадени 10 возила за потребите на сообраќајната полиција од страна на РСБСП". 2022.
- ^ "Picture". 2001. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
- ^ "Macedonia's Trademark Police Cars Drive into History". 30 August 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-11-07.
- ^ "Archived copy". fh1w93s8iw-flywheel.netdna-ssl.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Curbside Classic: 1999 Chrysler Cirrus LXi – Remember when Chrysler Showed Hope?".