Urban security management in the capitals of the former Yugoslav republics
| DOI | 10.1177/1477370812473537 |
| Author | Andrej Sotlar,Bernarda Tominc,Gorazd Meško |
| Date | 01 May 2013 |
| Published date | 01 May 2013 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
European Journal of Criminology
10(3) 284 –296
© The Author(s) 2013
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DOI: 10.1177/1477370812473537
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Urban security management
in the capitals of the former
Yugoslav republics
Gorazd Meško, Bernarda Tominc and
Andrej Sotlar
University of Maribor, Slovenia
Abstract
This article presents a study on urban security management in the capitals of the former Yugoslav
republics (FYR): Ljubljana (Slovenia), Zagreb (Croatia), Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina),
Belgrade (Serbia) and Skopje (FYR Macedonia). The article presents crime, natural disasters and
other security threats in the region using semi-structured interviews with municipal security
experts and officials as well as university researchers who deal with or manage security issues
in the respective cities. The main findings show that collaboration between the various state
and local organizations is necessary for the provision of safety and security in urban settings.
Competencies, knowledge, skills and integrity are required for urban security managers and all
partners in safety and security provision practice.
Keywords
Former Yugoslav republics, security manager, security threats, urban security
Introduction
The changing global security environment and new security challenges influenced the
development of security systems at individual, national and international levels. One can
say that the concept of security was redefined (Tominc and Sotlar, 2011). The concept of
human security (Djurić, 2009) puts the individual and his/her needs and expectations at the
centre of security provision provided by state and/or local security providers. This also
influenced local administrations, which were faced with higher expectations by citizens in
terms of a better quality of life, in which security and safety are irreplaceable goods. If after
9/11 the world’s capitals dealt mostly with terrorist threats, and the security and safety poli-
cies of cities were focused mostly on terrorist and crime issues, Hurricane Katrina (2005)
Corresponding author:
Gorazd Meško, University of Maribor, Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security, Kotnikova 8, SI-1000
Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Email: gorazd.mesko@fvv.uni-mb.si
473537EUC10310.1177/1477370812473537European Journal of CriminologyMeško et al.
2013
Article
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