The role of the police and police services during the Homeland War

Hrvatska je policija bila jedina vojna sila kojom je Hrvatska mogla legalno raspolagati nakon razoružanja Teritorijalne obrane. Osnutkom prvih specijalnih jedinica policije u Lučkom stvoreni će biti temelji za prvu profesionalna vojsku koja će sudjelovati zajedno s temeljnom policijom i s gardistima u sukobima protiv pobunjenih Srba i njihovih paravojnih postrojbi, a i protiv Jugonarodne armije koja je stala na stranu pobunjenika. Nakon prvotnih sukoba i najtežih trenutaka 1991. u kojima su stradali hrvatski policajci u Plitvicama, Glini, Dalju, Kostajnici i Borovu Selu, u rujnu je započeo proces zauzimanja vojarni jugoslavenske vojske nakon čega se hrvatska vojska uspjela naoružati te je krenula u prvu oslobađajuću operaciju „Orkan 91“ kojom je bio oslobođen velik dio zapadne Slavonije. Nakon Sarajevskog primirja započeo je period političkih previranja u kojem je Hrvatska uspjela zadobiti međunarodno priznanje. Zbog neefektivne uloge UN-ovih postrojbi na „tampon zonama“ Hrvatska će pokušati deblokirati velike gradove od topničke paljbe u raznim manjim akcijama. Zbog sukoba Hrvata i Bošnjaka u BiH tijekom 1993. reputacija Hrvatske je u rješavanju krize narušena. Stoga, tijekom čitave 1994. Hrvatska je pokušavala mirnim putevima riješiti rat predlažući nekoliko prijedloga i sporazuma. No, zbog stalnog odbijanja od strane srpskih vlasti, hrvatska vojska zajedno je s hrvatskom policijom sudjelovala u vojno-redarstvenim operacijama koje su kulminirale 1995. kada je oslobođeno čitavo okupirano područje.The Croatian police were the only military force that Croatia could legally dispose of after the disarmament of the Territorial Defense. The establishment of the first special police units in Lučko will lay the foundation for the first professional army to participate together with the basic police and the guards in conflicts against the insurgent Serbs and their paramilitary units, as well as against the Yugoslav Army, which sided with the rebels. After the initial conflicts and the most difficult moments of 1991 in which Croatian police officers were killed in Plitvice, Glina, Dalj, Kostajnica and Borovo Selo, the process of capturing the Yugoslav Army barracks began in September, after which the Croatian army managed to arm itself and launched the first liberation operation „Hurricane 91“ which liberated a large part of western Slavonia. After the Sarajevo armistice, a period of political turmoil began in which Croatia managed to gain international recognition. Due to the ineffective role of UN troops in the „buffer zones“, Croatia will try to unblock large cities from artillery fire in various smaller actions. Due to the conflict between Croats and Bosniaks in BiH in 1993, Croatia's reputation was damaged in resolving the crsis. Therefore, throughout 1994, Croatia tried to resolve the war peacefully by proposing several proposals and agreements. However, due to constant refusal by Serbian authorities, the Croatian army, together with the Croatian police, took part in military-police operations that culminated in 1995 when the entire occupied area was liberated