A public opinion survey conducted in September of this year shows that almost half of the surveyed citizens generally have a positive attitude towards the State Prosecutor’s Office in the country and trust this institution. Over 40 percent of respondents noticed a positive change in the work of the State Prosecutor’s Office in the last 12 months, while 59.8 percent believe that the State Prosecutor’s Office is generally efficient in its work. The results of the survey show that 35 percent of respondents support the work of Acting Supreme State Prosecutor Maja Jovanović, while 44.1 percent said they support the work of Chief Special Prosecutor Vladimir Novović. When respondents believe that the State Prosecutor’s Office is not efficient enough, the most common reasons given are corruption in the state (87.6%) and fear of criminal organizations (82.3%).
These are some of the key findings of the research Perception of the State Prosecutor’s Office in Montenegro commissioned by the OSCE Mission and conducted by the Damar agency on a sample of 1,000 adults through a random multi-stage stratified sample.
Presenting the results, the director of development at the Damar agency, Miloš Vukanović, stated that as one of the key institutions in the judicial system reform process, the State Prosecutor’s Office is going through a dynamic period of organizational reform. As he stated, the State Prosecutor’s Office is continuously in the center of interest of the domestic and international public. “Slightly less than half of respondents (46.4%) believe that the State Prosecutor’s Office is mostly successful in fighting corruption, while 42.9% of respondents believe that the Prosecutor’s Office does not successfully fight corruption.” The research further shows that citizens mostly get information about the State Prosecutor’s Office through television and internet portals,” said Vukanović.
After the presentation, the Deputy Head of the Mission Siv-Katrina Leirtroe stated that the Mission believes that this public opinion survey will support the Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office to improve its communication with citizens. “In order to build trust among citizens, it is crucial that the State Prosecutor’s Office effectively communicates with the public about its work and the specific activities it undertakes,” said Leirtroe and added that the Mission will continue to provide support to the State Prosecutor’s Office in 2023.
Acting Supreme State Prosecutor Maja Jovanović thanked for the continuous support that the State Prosecutor’s Organization receives from the OSCE Mission during the implementation of research and other specific activities. “The fact that over 40% of the respondents noticed changes for the better in the work of the State Prosecutor’s Office in the last 12 months and that almost half of the citizens generally have a positive general attitude when it comes to the State Prosecutor’s Office of Montenegro is pleasing. With our work and concrete results, we will strive to contribute so that the data in the next research will be even better than this year’s,” Jovanović said.
The mission has been cooperating with the office of the Supreme State Prosecutor since 2015. In addition to supporting research on the public’s perception of the Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office, she also helped in the development and implementation of the first communication strategy, as well as in the production of the TV series “Meet the Prosecutor’s Office”.
