The public perception survey, indicates an improvement in the public perception of the State Prosecutor's Office, but also identifies potential challenges and opportunities for improvement.
The research shows that 42% of respondents reported a very positive or somewhat positive attitude towards the State Prosecutor's Office, representing a 9.5% increase compared to the 2023 data. Slightly more than half of the respondents (51%) reported that they consider the State Prosecutor's Office to be very or somewhat effective in its work, while 53% of respondents believe the Prosecutor's Office successfully combat corruption, which represents an increase of almost 12% compared to the previous year. The 2024 data shows that a majority of citizens consider corruption and organized crime to be very serious or somewhat serious problems, however, perceptions of political influence and corruption, underscore the need for further reforms to bolster public trust.
These are some of the findings of a survey on the perception of the State Prosecutor's Office , commissioned by the OSCE Mission to Montenegro and conducted conducted between 15 October to 11 November 2024 by the De Facto agency on a sample of 1,005 adult citizens.
The data indicates a growing belief among citizens that the State Prosecutor's Office operates in a transparent manner. According to the data, 55% of citizens rate the prosecution's work as very or somewhat transparent, representing a 14.9 percentage point increase compared to 2023. Almost two-thirds of citizens have confidence in the Supreme and Special State Prosecutor's Offices - 64.1% and 64.8%, while high level of trust is also present for the Basic State Prosecutor's Office - 60%. More than half of the citizens trust the work of the High State Prosecutor's Office in Podgorica (57%), while the High State Prosecutor's Office in Bijelo Polje recorded a 5% increase in trust compared to the previous year's research.
"The data indicates dynamic changes in the perception of the State Prosecutor's Office. Almost 61% of respondents perceive the State Prosecutor's Office as an independent and impartial institution, an increase of 12% compared to 2023, suggests that citizens recognize the contribution of the State Prosecutor's Office to rule of law," said Slaven Živković from the De Facto agency during the presentation of the research.
"Increased transparency in their work and enhanced communication with citizens can contribute to increased public trust in institutions and the rule of law. The Mission is pleased to support this annual survey, and stands ready to continue its support in this and other areas where the Mission can provide its assistance to the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office", said the Head of the OSCE Mission, Ambassador Jan Haukaas.
Supreme State Prosecutor Milorad Marković noted that trust in prosecutor's offices at all levels rose from 5% to almost 15%. Data also indicates that the Supreme State Prosecutor's Office is increasingly recognized as an impartial and independent institution, that reflects the reform efforts undertaken by the office.
