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Blog Post

Montenegro: ICITAP Chairs Inter-Agency Working Group

On December 9, ICITAP-Montenegro convened a small working group of external donors and police attachés interested in supporting the Montenegrin National Police Directorate’s Special Police Department (SPD). The SPD is designated by law to work under the overall direction of the Special State Prosecutor for Organized Crime and Terrorism (SPO). Working on long-term investigations, the SPO and SPD are intended to be Montenegro’s lead agencies in detecting and investigating organized crime. The Chief Special State Prosecutor has requested that the international community assist in developing an SPD that is operationally independent and capable of investigating organized crime groups. To this end, ICITAP is working with several partners to develop a comprehensive package of assistance to the SPD. Partners include the UK Law-Enforcement Team, Italy’s Police Liaison Attaché, non-governmental organizations, and European Union-funded projects on rule of law and pre-accession assistance. The State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Team at Embassy Podgorica also provides assistance to the SPO under their Rule of Law Program. The meeting of December 9 was the first of several meetings, which will be required under this project activity. Assistance to the SPD is part of ICITAP’s current mission in Montenegro, and these meetings will better inform the delivery of both ICITAP and INL assistance.

Updated January 20, 2025