<<previous  |  index  |  next>>

V. Investigations

A. Lack of specialized investigators within prosecutors’ offices

One of the largest tasks that prosecutors deal with in the context of cases for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide is investigation. Prosecutors must organize the gathering of physical evidence and witness testimony to ascertain the veracity of complaints before seeking an indictment and then preparing indicted cases for trial. The law in both entities allows prosecutors to work with “authorized personnel” who can assist with investigations by identifying suspects, gathering information and evidence, and executing court orders.⁸⁶ Proposals have been put forth to create investigators within cantonal and district prosecutors’ offices, but so far these proposals have not yielded results.⁸⁷ Such investigators could assist with some of the more time-consuming tasks facing prosecutors, such as attending exhumations and interviewing witnesses. These investigators would also be under the control of prosecutors, rather than police, which would give prosecutors more control over investigations. Such investigators would also be removed from political pressures that can sometimes make it difficult for police to work on certain politically sensitive crimes.

B. Police cooperation across entity boundaries during investigations

Without specialized investigators within prosecutors’ offices, investigations are carried out by prosecutors themselves and by local police. This arrangement is problematic in many regards. Even many years after the war in Bosnia, public trust in the police, especially across entity boundaries, remains low, in part due to lingering suspicions that some members of the police, on all sides, were involved in human rights violations during the war. While there have been improvements in cooperation in many spheres, cases dealing with crimes committed during the war are extremely politically sensitive. Because of this, it is often very difficult for police to fulfill their role in investigations of these crimes. This is especially true where police cooperation across entity boundaries is required.

Police in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina state that cooperation with their colleagues in Republika Srpska was nonexistent a few years ago but has made great strides recently, especially on less politically sensitive crimes.⁸⁸ Prosecutors in the RS gave mixed reviews of cooperation from Federation police, citing generally improved cooperation with exceptions in certain cantons.⁸⁹

Despite these advances, cooperation between police in different entities on investigations of international law crimes continues to pose significant challenges. Police in the Federation conceded that the Bosnian State Investigation and Protection Agency (SIPA) is much better suited to investigate crimes committed by the local majority groups than are local police.⁹⁰ Although cooperation between SIPA and entity police existed in the first years of SIPA’s creation, it has now been halted so that SIPA investigators can focus their limited resources on their primary task of assisting state prosecutors.⁹¹

C. Limited police investigative capacity

Even apart from political considerations, police in both entities have limited ability to carry out the tasks required by cases dealing with crimes under international law. Police bodies in both entities have taken some steps to increase their capacity to investigate these cases. Training workshops on cooperation between police and prosecutors are credited with some improvement in this area, though many challenges remain.⁹² In the Federation, police war crimes specialists have begun to be used, but these officers also work on a variety of other types of violent crimes and work only in Sarajevo. They are unable to supervise the work of police in the cantons.⁹³ War crimes specialists are employed within the Public Security Centers in Republika Srpska, but in limited numbers (between three and eight officers apiece), and many centers lack proper facilities for conducting interviews with witnesses.⁹⁴

Ministry of the Interior staff have noted difficulties in recruiting women and people from different ethnic backgrounds to work as war crimes investigators.⁹⁵ Many police have little training in dealing with traumatized victims, and due to this, many male police officials struggle in dealing with women who have been victims of sexual violence.⁹⁶

D. Cooperation between prosecutors and police on investigations

These practical and political difficulties have strained cooperation between prosecutors and police on sensitive human rights cases.⁹⁷ Even those prosecutors who assert that cooperation with police is adequate concede that cases dealing with crimes committed during the war pose challenges. These challenges are especially intense when prosecutors must rely on local police to provide information on crimes committed by members of the police.⁹⁸

The issue of police reform in Bosnia continues to be a live political issue, especially due to Bosnia’s European Union accession process. One civil society representative stressed the need for more extensive vetting of police than had previously been conducted in Bosnia, pointing out that several police officers had recently been named as having been involved in the genocide at Srebrenica.⁹⁹ Police in both entities acknowledge problems with sympathy for suspects among some police and even the presence of suspected war criminals within police forces.¹⁰⁰ It is important that ongoing efforts in police reform take account of the role of the police in investigating crimes committed during the war. Ensuring funding for more specialized officers, with more extensive training in the complex practice of investigating these crimes, would help with this. Placing such officers under the authority of prosecutors’ offices would help insulate them from political pressures in their daily work on politically sensitive cases.