I. Historical Background
Croatia first appeared as a duchy in the late 8th century and then as a kingdom in the 10th century. From the 12th century it remained a distinct state with its ruler (ban) and parliament, but it obeyed the kings and emperors of various neighboring powers, primarily Hungary and Austria. The period from the 15th to the 17th centuries was marked by bitter struggles with the Ottoman Empire. After being incorporated in Yugoslavia for most of the 20th century, Croatia regained independence in 1991.
First president: Dr. Franco Tudman (1922-1999)
Present President:Ivo Josipović
Continent: Europe
Government:Presidential / Parliamentary Democracy
Land Area:21, 781 sq. mi. (56, 414 sq. km.)
Population:4, 480, 043
Capital: Zagreb
Source of Livelihood:
Currency:Kuna
Official Languages:Croatian, Hungarian, Italian, Czech, Venetian
II. Law Enforcement Set-Up / Administration
Law enforcement in Croatia is the responsibility of the Police (Croatian: Policija), which is a public service of the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia, carrying out certain tasks, the so-called, police activities, laid down by law.
The Police deals with the following affairs: protection of individual life, rights, security and integrity, protection of property, prevention and detection of criminal offences, misdemeanors, violations, search for perpetrators of criminal offences, misdemeanors, violations and their bringing before competent authorities, control and management of road traffic, conducting affairs with aliens, control and security of state border, and other affairs defined by law.
In the operative sense, police affairs are divided into affairs related to public peace and order, affairs related to security of public gatherings, affairs of the border police, affairs of safety of road traffic, affairs of counter-explosive protection, affairs of the criminal police, crime-technical affairs, crime-files affairs, administrative