NCJ Number
190839
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 68 Issue: 8 Dated: August 2001 Pages: 48-54
Date Published
August 2001
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This article describes creating a democratic police force in Kosovo.
Abstract
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) was charged by the United Nations with developing, implementing, and delivering police training in Kosovo. The OSCE created the Department of Police Education and Development, and planned for an international staff of 201 instructors with a variety of policing styles and backgrounds. In naming the new organization the Kosovo Police Service, planners chose to emphasize service to the community and de-emphasize the use of force. The OSCE and the United Nations Civilian Police were jointly responsible for processing and screening applicants for the new police service. The article describes building a new training facility, where the first 178 students arrived on September 7, 1999. The school's student population quickly reached almost 800, divided into two basic training sessions. The topics of human rights, human dignity, democratic policing, use of force, and the law are interwoven throughout the courses to show students the relationship between theory and application. After graduation, new officers are assigned to designated field training officers, who monitor the new officers' development. Graduates now in the field have done very well, and the school is meeting its goal of recruiting, training, and deploying a multiethnic police service.