How police officers should conduct interviews with persons suspected of being trafficked was the focus of a two-day workshop organized by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and the Ministry of Interior's Department for Combating Human Trafficking on 24 and 25 April in Budva.
Around 25 participants from the border police, the criminal police group for combating juvenile delinquency and domestic violence, as well as centres for social work discussed how to conduct interviews with victims of human trafficking, using standardized set of questions to ensure their rights are respected. It was the first out of three workshops planned in this year.
Opening the event, Toni Škrinjar, Mission's Organized Crime Police Adviser, said that through asking specific questions, police officers could identify trafficked victims. "It is also important to gather specific information that will identify perpetrators of crime and serve as evidence for successful prosecution. Patience and empathy are required when interviewing victims of trafficking to avoid further traumatizing them," said Škrinjar.
Tijana Šuković, Head of the Department for Combating Human Trafficking, stated that from November 2019 to December 2022, 73 persons were identified as victims of human trafficking by the team for formal identification of victims of human trafficking. "The forms of exploitation to which these persons were exposed include labour and sexual exploitation, forced begging and illegal marriage," said Šuković.
