Joint Efforts for More Administration Transparency

On 20 October, Minister Tomislav Karamarko and Dražen Komarica, Chairman of the non-governmental organisation Judges Web, signed at the Headquarters of the Internal Affairs Ministry, the Agreement on Cooperation between the Internal Affairs Ministry of the Republic of Croatia and Judges Web. This marks the beginning of the realisation of the projects "Digitalisation of instructions and directions for police work" and "On-line Police Stations" which shall be realised by the Judges Web in cooperation with the Police Directorate of the Internal Affairs Ministry of the Republic of Croatia. The Judges Web is a non-governmental and non-profit organisation with ten years of successful operation in the field of applying modern technologies and enhancing the quality of work of state institutions, and in providing citizens with access to requested information.

The idea for this project emerged one year ago on the basis of the Report on the progress of the Republic of Croatia.  Experts of the European Union concluded that the harmonisation with the acquis communautaire in the chapter “Justice, Freedom and Safety” is developing well, but that still large efforts are needed in order to ensure administrative and implementation abilities, especially in the sense of intergenerational cooperation, including police authorities, customs, state attorneys and the judicial system, and to repress corruption and ensure the fight against organised crime.

As there is no unique and comprehensive list of instructions and directions in digital form, the Police Directorate and the Judges Web agreed to implement the “On-line Police Stations” project for the purpose of increasing transparency of the work of police stations. This project envisages the development of an integral portal based on technology and the principle which ahs been successfully applied to courts and state attorney offices. The “On-line Police Stations” project will in a modern way and in accordance with global standards provide citizens with detailed and useful information on police, and the functionality of the application will meet the project criteria agreed upon with the Police Directorate. The aim of the project is to strengthen communication with citizens and to increase the citizens’ trust in the work of institutions through increasing transparency of the work of police stations. Chief of Police, Mr. Zoran Ničeno, said that the “On-line Police Stations” project will benefit both the employees of the Internal Affairs Ministry and the citizens. He pointed out that the European Commission stated in its latest "Report on the progress of the Republic of Croatia" that more transparency in the public administration was needed, and the realisation of these projects is one positive step in that direction.

- The main aim of these projects is the creation of efficient mechanisms which shall enhance the relations between the Internal Affairs Ministry and the non-governmental sector in the Republic of Croatia. – said Ničeno.

The second project "Digitalisation of instructions and directions for police work" will help the employees of the Internal Affairs Ministry to easily and quickly access information necessary for day to day work. With the digitalisation of instructions and directions the burden of administration will be significantly decreased and work efficiency increased. When signing the Agreement on Cooperation, Chairman of the Organisation Judges Web, Mr. Dražen Komarica, said that he was extremely honoured that after ten years of experience his non-governmental organisation has the opportunity to cooperate with the Internal Affairs Ministry of the Republic of Croatia.

- The Kingdom of the Netherlands and the e-Croatia (e-Hrvatska) project played an important role in the realization of this project and thanks to them administrative obstacles in the granting of donations were resolved. The value of the project which shall be implemented in the next year is higher than the mere donation of equipment as it requires the digitalisation of data which will take many working hours – emphasized Komarica.

With the realisation of these projects, the Police Directorate of the Internal Affairs Ministry will receive permanent ownership of computer equipment – 26 computers and the development of software solutions in accordance with own instructions and guidelines which is of interest for the sustainability of these projects. The project costs shall be entirely borne by foreign donators. Thus, the government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has secured 470 thousand Euros of aid for this project.

- The civil sector plays an important part in every modern democracy, not as the enemy of the Government, but as a desirable partner – concluded the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Croatia, her Excellency Mrs. Nienke Trooster and added that she strongly supports this kind of cooperation. The Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr. Tomislav Karamarko, thanked the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands as well as the Judges Web for this valuable donation which marks the beginning of a multiannual project.

- The project is important because it will be practical and applicable to the mutual benefit of the officials of the Internal Affairs Ministry of the Republic of Croatian and our citizens, whereby it simultaneously modernizes our infrastructure, while this project simultaneously becomes an example of how the relation of on-governmental organizations and one ministry can be articulated – stated Karamarko, and added that this is also a confirmation of the extremely good relations between the Netherlands and Croatia which continues to strongly support Croatia in the last phase of the negotiations with the European Union.