The traditional and the modern model of police work in the security sector

Abstract

The paper discusses sector work as the basis of efficient policing. There are two models to be discussed. The first model is the model applied during the period of socialism and social self-protection and the second is the one in the period after the year 2000 when implementation of community policing experiences taken from the developed countries started. In the period of socialism, the sector work was recognized as a form of decentralization of the police force, a suitable form for conducting preventive work and as a way to incorporate the police force into the system of social self-protection successfully. The patrolman in a sector enjoyed the trust and respect of the citizens. Being deployed in a particular sector for several years, he knew the people, the territory, and the security problems in that area. The sector work (both conceptually and practically) has many similarities with the community policing model whose implementation should lead to the transformation of the conventional way of doing police work and restore the confidence of citizens in the police. Community policing brought the reaffirmation of the patrolman and sector work, and taking on many of its recognizable programs, methods and techniques can contribute to adaptation and application of the traditional sector work to modern conditions.