BIRN Serbia’s analysis of public procurements conducted in 2022 and 2023 found 61 purchases of surveillance equipment and softwares, worth over 17 million euros.
The findings were presented in a new report, “Public Procurements of Surveillance Equipment: The Thin Line between Security and Privacy“.
“Procurements of video surveillance equipment are by far the most numerous. There are 48 such contracts with a total value of over 12.8 million euros. The purchasers of this equipment are local government units (19 procurements), public and public utility companies (22 procurements), hospitals (3), and correctional institutions (2),“ the report states.
A sample revealed 13 public procurements of equipment with the capability of biometric face recognition. Such procurements, emphasized the analysis, not only violate the right to privacy but also contradict Serbia’s laws.
„In addition to local government, some less expected entities have procured face-recognition equipment – elementary and high schools in Požega, a hospital in Sombor, Belgrade markets and the Directorate for Urban Planning and Construction of Belgrade,” the report states.
In addition to video surveillance, institutions also procured cryptographic devices, such as the Office for Information and eGovernment. The analysis of public procurements revealed two procurements for equipment that enabled monitoring and control of employees.
The report states that the Administration for Joint Affairs of Provincial Bodies purchased personnel record software „which includes personal information of employees” and envisages gathering health conditions, chronic illnesses and religious beliefs.
The largest supplier of video surveillance equipment was the company Maccina Security. During the research period, this company concluded 14 contracts for the procurement of video surveillance equipment, totaling almost one billion dinars.
According to the Public Procurement Portal, Maccina Security signed at least 103 contracts with state institutions, local government units and public enterprises from October 2020 to now.
„The analysis also noted several problems in the public procurement procedures, primarily the lack of consistent application of the General Vocabulary of Public Procurement, with public institutions and companies ordering different types of goods or services under the same code. Secondly, the lack of competitiveness, as only one bidder appeared in 75 per cent of the analyzed procurements,“ the report states.