LEGAL ASPECTS OF POLICE SUPERVISION OF PRIVATE PHYSICAL SECURITY IN SERBIA

Abstract

Purpose: The Serbian Private Security Law was adopted in 2013, and the topic of police supervision of private security has not been examined in the scientific and professional literature. The authors believe that this is a very important issue that needs to be researched primarily from the legal and operational aspects in order to remove certain doubts and provide guidelines for solving certain problems in “practical” policing. Design/Methods/Approach: The normative method was used in the research of legal norms regulating police supervision of private security. In certain places in the paper, in order to achieve certain definitions of a general character, the method of abstraction was used. Mostly, the method of observation with the participation of one of the co-authors and observation without participation, but also the descriptive method, was used. Findings: In the paper, the authors came up with a definition of supervision of private security and concluded that police supervision of private security is a special type of supervision (supervision sui generis). They also concluded that the Supervision Minutes are a public document that, along with other documentation, can serve as evidence in the proceedings before the competent court. In the end, two types of coercion (force) can be used as an ultima ratio in the police supervision procedure, namely administrative-legal and police coercion, but in accordance with the regulations. Originality/Value: The value of this paper is reflected in the fact that it examines in a comprehensive and precise way the issue of police supervision of private security, which is important both from the aspect of realizing the freedoms and rights of citizens and from the aspect of the socio-economic progress of the state. Apart from the fact that in the scientific and professional literature there are no papers on police supervision of private security, the originality of the paper is indicated by the methods used and the conclusions reached by the authors. The paper can serve as a guideline for future policing but also for further doctrinal research in the social sciences and humanities. Keywords: police, supervision, private security, inspection, law.