Despite the complexity, dangerousness and cruelty of its forms and actions, serious and organized crime represents a security challenge that the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Serbia faces with determination and combats persistently and successfully, striving to remove all of its effects and bring its perpetrators to justice.

As a strategic document, which is extremely important and significant since it represents an indicator of everything that has been achieved in the fight against organized and serious crime and since it provides guidance and instructions for the future work of all members of the Ministry of Interior dealing with this issue, the Serious and Organized Crime Threat assessment (SOCTA) represents a reflection of the commitment of the Government of the Republic of Serbia, whose priorities include the fight against every form of crime.

Through analyses and forecasts, the third SOCTA creates an objective basis for the adoption of operational decisions, and, together with the improvement of the Ministry of Interior capacities, we get as the final result our highest priority task, goal and obligation – to raise the level of citizens’ security and to protect the fundamental rights. and freedoms of citizens of the Republic of Serbia.

After all, in order to fight crime and eliminate it in the most effective way possible, we need, first of all, to identify the main security threats, and this is where the Serious and Organized Crime Threat Assessment will point us in the right direction.

In addition to this, only by joining forces within cooperation with prosecutors’ offices and courts and institutions such as the University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies and within cooperation with international police organizations can we find appropriate solutions in the fight against crime and achieve what is imperative for every organized state – the security and safety of all citizens and preservation of their property.

Moreover, we must never forget that organized crime groups and individuals gain great material benefit through the commission of these criminal offenses and frequently cause losses to the budget of the Republic of Serbia and its citizens. And because many join their forces to engage in criminal activities, be that drug trafficking, property crimes, smuggling of human beings or weapons, money laundering or any other type of organized crime, the danger becomes even greater, which gives the Ministry of Interior an additional reason to launch an even stronger response; it is also our obligation to anticipate such phenomena and situations as much as possible.

Since this SOCTA is intended to prevent potential risks and threats, the Ministry of Interior, through serious operational work of police officers, improvement of technical and institutional capacities, exchange of information and cooperation with prosecutors’ offices, has the task of securing all necessary resources – above all knowledge – which will always be a step ahead of any security threat.

I would like to thank the University of Criminal Investigation and Police Studies for its outstanding involvement in the preparation of the Assessment, as well as the US State Department Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) as its implementation partner in Serbia, and International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) for their support.