Official says police deployed in every school in Serbia

NEWS 08.05.202311:27
vračar škola vladislav ribnikar pucnjava policija
REUTERS/Djordje Kojadinovic

A senior Serbian Internal Affairs Ministry (MUP) official said on Monday that police officers were deployed to every school in the country as part of the measures introduced after the mass killings in a Belgrade elementary school.

MUP State Secretary Zeljko Brkic said the police officers will be present before school starts and when classes end as a prevention measure. The Serbian school system has had so-called school police officers who were present until classes ended but in some places, including the Vladislav Ribnikar school which was the site of last week’s mass killings, police officers just inspect the school because they had to cover at least two other schools as well.

Brkic said the school police officers will keep in touch with parents, teachers and other school staff to gather information and take steps to raise the level of security. He appealed to the public to report anything that could affect the safety of schools and students. According to him, the Vladislav Ribnikar school now has 4 police officers.