SAFER CITIES

29. January 2013.

Source: Jugpress / Novi Sad - Leskovac – On January 24 and 25, 2013, representatives of the Working Group for Developing the Regional Security Strategy of the Jablanica and Pcinj Districts visited the Government of the AP of Vojvodina, where they familiarized themselves with the examples of Vojvodina’s best practices. The study visit was organized by the PBILD Program and was in connection with the "Safer Cities” project.

While talking with their hosts from the Security Committee of the Assembly of Vojvodina, the guests were informed about the methods used in a multi-ethnic environment such as Vojvodina, so that they could ensure that the rights of minorities were respected in all the municipalities. The hosts said that the provincial government devoted a lot of attention to inter-ethnic relations, and that those relations were quite good, while their major problems were those related to traffic safety and drivers’ behavior. A medium-term project on the introduction of quality standards in local self-governments, so that it could be known which employees was doing some work, as well as what and when he/she was doing, and to whom he/she was responsible for their work, was presented to the guests of the Government of Vojvodina.

Coordinator of the "Safer Cities" project, Svetislav Paunovic, said that the strengthening of capacities of the local self-governments, institutions and civil society, as well as cooperation in the field of crime prevention and safety promotion, were the main objectives to be achieved by the project.
The PBILD Program "Peace-Building and Inclusive Local Development" is an initiative of the United Nations in the territory of the Jablanica and Pcinj districts.

The “Safer Cities” project is one of the components of the program, within which the safety plans of nine southern Serbian municipalities were set, which will be the basis for formulating the Regional Security Strategy”, Mr. Paunovic said.

While they were acquainting their hosts with the operation of the local Security Councils in the Jablanica and Pcinj districts, the guests pointed out that the role of the Security Council was to propose measures for improving security and safety in the municipalities and to advise local authorities, as well as to link all relevant local institutions, for the purpose of increasing the security of citizens.

On the second day of the study visit, the delegation of the regional working group for developing the security strategy of the Jablanica and Pcinj districts visited the Safety Council of Vojvodina’s municipality of Becej.