Contribution of the police negotiating team to the protection of human rights in specific security situations

Legal right of police to use force, especially firearms, makes modern police mission seem inconsistent: in order to protect the rights of one, the police must limit the rights of others, which raises the question of optimal measures between these opposites. The most dangerous is the police action which encroaches on the right to life, thus indirectly interfering in other human rights. This applies equally to both citizens and the offenders. In an effort to minimize the possibility of eroding the right to life, the modern police forces have developed mechanisms of so-called police negotiating. Respecting the principles of legality, humanity and expertise, members of the of specialized police units engage in negotiations with the most dangerous criminals in order to prevent them in further criminal intent on one hand and in order to solve the crisis without the use of police force, on the other. In addition a notable involvement of police negotiators in prevention of suicide attempts has been observed. In this regard, the paper explores the contribution of the negotiating team of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Serbia to the protection of human rights in Serbia in the period 2005.-2010.