OSCE Mission helps professionalize Kosovo police
An OSCE Mission-organized training on operational management for 21 mid-ranking Kosovo police officers concluded on 11 November 2011 in Vushtrri/Vučitrn.
The one-month long training course aims to help further professionalise Kosovo police in areas including criminal investigations, police operations, critical incidents and public relations management.
“The Kosovo police is quite young. It was established in 1999 and it is natural that their knowledge still needs to grow,” said Carsten Twelmeier, the Director of the OSCE Mission’s Department of Security and Public Safety. “Basic training is now well run, and we are entering the next training phase targeting police management and leadership development, as well as specialized and advanced areas of policing.”
The training is a requirement for further promotion in rank for lieutenants, captains and lieutenant colonels.
“The trained police officers have gained knowledge and skills that they will share with their colleagues in their daily work,” said Lieutenant Driton Zabergja, the Head of Mandatory Training Section at Kosovo Academy for Public Safety.
The operational management training will also be used to identify further training needs, as well as to develop modular management training for the Kosovo police. Based on a performance evaluation, the ten highest-scoring police officers will become trainers.
The OSCE Mission promotes strengthening of the security and public safety sector in Kosovo by providing assistance and capacity building to public safety agencies and their training units.