CROATIA PROJECT ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND

UNCLAS ZAGREB 001218

SIPDIS


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV HR
SUBJECT: CROATIA PROJECT ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN LAW ENFORCEMENT AND
CRIMINAL JUSTICE SECTOR PROGRAM

REF: STATE 123946

SUMMARY
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1. In response to reftel, below are accomplishments in the past 18
months in Post's SEED-funded, INL-administered law enforcement and
criminal justice programs. Post programs are divided into general
police reform and war crimes. Post requests INL support in
securing USD 2.7 million in new, FY-06 funding. Post proposes to
use these funds to complete the war crimes program and to leverage
our achievements and continue and expand our ICITAP program into a
regional training program focused on developing advanced police
skills and anti-organized crime techniques. End Summary.

GENERAL POLICE REFORM
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2. As a result of ICITAP training-the-trainer program on the "Use-
of-force" continuum completed in October 2004, Croatian police
report a dramatic decline in cases of inappropriate use of
restrictive measures. The GoC defines restrictive measures or
uses of force as ranging from the use of handcuffs on a suspect
all the way up to discharging a weapon. From 1995 to 2005, the
number of uses of force rose from approximately 480 to 2300
instances. For 1995, fully 6% of instances were found on review
to have been excessive or inappropriate. For 2004, less than 0.4%
of cases were inappropriate.


3. By June 2005, the police have hired approximately 125 new
officers who received their basic training in a completely
redesigned Police School. All of these officers are receiving six
months of field training with veteran officers. Both the Police
School redesign and the veteran Field Training Officer programs
were developed under the ICITAP program.


4. Advisor impact: based on proposals developed by ICITAP advisors
in conjunction with ICITAP-supported training, the Witness
Protection Unit has redesigned its oversight and information
security processes.


WAR CRIMES: BUILDING CAPACITY FOR INVESTIGATION AND ADJUDICATION
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5. Three workshops implemented by ABA CEELI (June 05) have
educated Croatian judicial and law enforcement officials on
international practices and the Croatian legal framework with
regard to witness protection. As a result, the Croatian Ministry
of Interior's witness protection unit has completely revamped its
policies and procedures to address concerns raised by
international experts and Post's ICITAP advisors. The workshops
also strengthened regional cooperation in the witness protection
field.


6. Two study trips for Croatian judges and prosecutors to the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY)
(April and July 05) resulted in strengthened cooperation between
the ICTY and Croatian judicial officials and improved information
sharing in preparation for transfers of cases (both indicted and
not yet indicted) from the Tribunal to Croatian courts. We also
used the visits to identify Croatian trainers for upcoming
seminars.


7. Digital videoconferencing equipment donated to the Zagreb
County Court in December 04 has been used to provide
remote/protected witness testimony to the Belgrade Special War
Crimes Court for the Ovcara Farm case. The equipment has been
used for videoconference communication between the Ministry of
Justice and the ICTY. Additional systems expected in August for
the county courts in Split, Rijeka, Osijek, and Vukovar will allow
remote and/or protected testimony in such high profile cases as
Lora Prison and Paulin Dvor.


8. Additional audio-visual equipment purchased for the Zagreb
County Court is enhancing transparency and media access to court
proceedings.


9. Software purchased for the Ministry of Finance's Office for
Suppression of Money Laundering is allowing investigators to track
money transfers in their efforts to track ICTY fugitive Ante
Gotovina.


10. Using funds designated for public outreach, Post is supporting
organization of roundtables and public discussions on war crimes
issues that will promote understanding of the importance of rule
of law, particularly among critical groups such as war veterans.

FY-06 FUNDING REQUESTS
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11. WAR CRIMES: All upcoming initiatives related to war crimes are
being funded from FY2005 obligations. For FY2006, post requires
approximately USD 83,000 in PD&S funds to fund our war crimes
project assistant position. This includes USD 50,000 for salary


and benefits, USD 6,000 for travel and telephone, USD 22,000 for
ICASS expenses, and USD 5,000 to cover exchange rate fluctuations.


12. ICITAP: Under Post's SEED Close out strategy, the bilateral
ICITAP program was scheduled to finish in FY-04. However, better-
than-expected program performance and renewed commitment by the
GoC to completing comprehensive police reforms justified new SEED
funding for FY-05. For FY-06, we would like to continue and
expand current efforts to improve organized crime investigation
and prosecution capabilities to leverage the skills being
developed in conjunction with the War Crimes program. Since
Croatia mission FY-06 funds were drastically reduced, we recognize
that this request would be above and beyond current planned
funding levels. Post requests that INL look for regional SEED,
INL or other funding sources for Croatia. Should such new funding
be identified, Post requests USD 1 million for FY-06 to maintain
current ICITAP program and training capacities. In addition, Post
would like to further leverage our achievements at the Police
Academy by developing Croatia as an ideal platform for regional
police training and regional organized crime investigative
training. To implement this additional effort, Post requests an
additional USD 1.6 million in regional SEED or other appropriate
funds for FY-06. The total of this request is USD 2.6 million.

FRANK


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