The police force is being continuously trained for the use of such vehicle, and resort to the actual use of it if law-mandated criteria are met and if the use is truly necessary, explained Tomislav Omejec from the Common Police Sector at the General Police Directorate when formally inspecting the vehicle.

In addition to a higher capacity water cannon, the vehicle has a video surveillance system, which ensures safety and a higher standard of proof when criminal acts take place in a crowd. It is also equipped with a powerful megaphone, which is used to give instructions to the crowd on how to avoid the need for cannon intervention. Additionally, the vehicle can use coloured water jets, which help identify the role of problematic individuals within the crowd against which the cannon is directed, describes Omejec.

After a failed public tender in 2010, the Interior Ministry issued a new tender in August this year to purchase a specialised vehicle equipped with a water cannon as a replacement for a 30-year-old cannon made by the Maribor-based TAM (former) factory.
The tender attracted two offers – only the Ljubljana branch of Rosenbauer fit all criteria. The vehicle was made in Austria and sold for EUR 1.16m (including VAT). It was delivered two months before the due date, added the ministry’s director for financial affairs and purchases Matej Urek.