Today, 1 February 2010, the newly established National Bureau of Investigation, Criminal Police Directorate and the Inspectorate of the Ministry of the Interior have moved to new modern premises at Dimičeva 16, Ljubljana.
The new premises were officially opened by Prime Minister Borut Pahor, Minister of the Interior Katarina Kresal and Director General of the Police Janko Goršek.
The ceremony was also attended by Director of Europol Rob Wainwright, Finland's Deputy National Police Commissioner Kari Rantama, State Prosecutor General of the Republic of Slovenia Barbara Brezigar and other distinguished guests.
Those present were welcomed by Robert Črepinko, Acting Director of the National Bureau of Investigation, who also gave a comprehensive presentation of the new bureau's work.
Opening Address by Robert Črepinko
"Economic cooperation in Europe and beyond has also made areas of criminal activity expand. For this reason, good international cooperation is of key importance for the success of our work", added Črepinko and welcomed Europol Director Rob Wainwright and Finland's Deputy National Police Commissioner Kari Rantama. Namely, the Slovenian National Investigation Bureau has been created on the model of the National Bureau of Investigation of Finland, which Slovenia further upgraded with a multidisciplinary approach.
In his address, Europol Director Rob Wainwright emphasised that international cooperation and exchanging best practices bring about excellent results. "With the establishment of the National Investigation Bureau, Slovenia's fight against organised crime has grown even stronger," stated Wainwright.
The main speaker at the ceremony was Aleksander Jevšek, Head of Criminal Police Directorate, who emphasized our efforts to be even more successful and efficient in detecting economic crime and corruption.
Today's ceremony also marked the 60th anniversary of the Journal of Criminal Investigation and Criminology. This leading Slovenian scientific and professional journal is published four times a year by the Criminal Police Directorate of the General Police Directorate, in cooperation with the Institute of Criminology. For this reason the next speaker was Dr Gorazd Meško, Dean of the Faculty of Criminal Justice and Security of the University of Maribor, who said that not many criminological journals can boast such a long tradition and rich history.
Ivanka Sket and Marija Milenkovič, contributors to the Journal of Criminal Investigation and Criminology of many years, were awarded the Silver Badge of the Police for Cooperation. The awards were presented by Director General of the Police Janko Goršek. With their work for the Journal, Ms Sket and Ms Milenkovič had contributed to the strengthening of security culture.
The lobby of the National Bureau of Investigation hosts an exhibition devoted to the 60th anniversary of the Journal of Criminal Investigation and Criminology. On display are the covers of the journals issued so far.
The National Bureau of Investigation is a specialised criminal investigation unit at the national level for the detection and investigation of serious criminal offences, especially economic and financial crime and corruption and in certain cases organised crime, cybercrime and more difficult forms of conventional crime. The Bureau started operating on 1 January 2010.
State-of-the-art premises in Dimičeva Street will give the 300 criminal investigators, officers and inspectors who relocated there every possibility for quality and in-depth work.
