Kosovo Police Service
Encyclopedia
Kosovo Police is the police
law enforcement agency
of the Republic of Kosovo
.
It was created in 1999 in the aftermath of the Kosovo War
and subsequent withdrawal of the Yugoslav armed forces from Kosovo
.
The establishment of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK) included a large international policing component, named the UNMIK Police. They were given two primary tasks by UN Security Council Resolution 1244: 1) to establish a new police force; 2) in the meantime, to maintain civil law and order. The name for the new police force "Kosovo Police Service", was chosen by the first international police commissioner, Sven Frederiksen (Denmark). Recruitment began immediately, and former police school premises in the city of Vučitrn
were renovated by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which began to train cadets.
As of February 2008, when Kosovo declared independence
, the force became a governmental agency
of the Government
of the Republic of Kosovo. Before, it was subordinated to the UNMIK Police, and the police commissioner retained command authority over both the international police and the Kosovo Police.
The Kosovo Police has grown steadily since 1999, and in 2004 reached its planned full size of nearly 7,000 officers. As of 2010, it has around 9,000 employees. About 85% of Kosovo Police officers are ethnic Albanians, 15% are ethnic Serbs and other ethnic minorities.
The first ROSU in the country of Kosovo was for the capital Prishtina and was originally called Regional Street Crimes Unit in early 2002. That unit was based in Kosovo Polje and was used to support all regions as needed. Later due to successes of that unit and additional responsibilities in the team mission to include support of CPU on high risk principals, the name was changed to ROSU and duplicate units were placed in each region of Kosovo. The idea was to operate each unit as a separate "troop" with a commander reporting to the mission commander similar to how the State Police operate in the United States.
The main task of the Close Protection Unit is to provide personal protection to VIPs. In addition, the Close Protection Unit provides protection for persons believed to be subject to threats.
The Close Protection Unit also undertakes tactical operations, escorting delegations, and evacuations of both international staff and Kosovo Police officers.
End of 2008 UNMIK handed the task over to EULEX (European Union Rule of Law mission)
The international contribution is currently continuing through the mentoring-monitoring-advising tasks, accompanying the FIT/SIU on the way of the full autonomy.
K-9 unit performs different police operation with seven police patrol dogs, three dogs for narcotics detections and one for explosives detection. K-9 unit has three local instructors who organize trainings for young officers envisaged to be part of K-9 unit.
Second generation is trained in the second half of 2003 with 5 police officers while the third generation with 9 police officers is trained in 2004. In 2005 is trained fourth generation with twelve police officers, while currently the Motorcycles Unit has 32 police officers.
The main responsibility of the Motorcyclists Unit is to escort of very important persons (VIP).
Police
The police is a personification of the state designated to put in practice the enforced law, protect property and reduce civil disorder in civilian matters. Their powers include the legitimized use of force...
law enforcement agency
Law enforcement agency
In North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...
of the Republic of Kosovo
Republic of Kosovo
Kosovo , officially the Republic of Kosovo is a partially recognised state and a disputed territory in the Balkans...
.
It was created in 1999 in the aftermath of the Kosovo War
Kosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
and subsequent withdrawal of the Yugoslav armed forces from Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
.
The establishment of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo or UNMIK is the interim civilian administration in Kosovo, under the authority of the United Nations. The mission was established on 10 June 1999 by Security Council Resolution 1244...
(UNMIK) included a large international policing component, named the UNMIK Police. They were given two primary tasks by UN Security Council Resolution 1244: 1) to establish a new police force; 2) in the meantime, to maintain civil law and order. The name for the new police force "Kosovo Police Service", was chosen by the first international police commissioner, Sven Frederiksen (Denmark). Recruitment began immediately, and former police school premises in the city of Vučitrn
Vucitrn
Vučitrn or Vushtrri is a city and municipality in north-eastern Kosovo. It is the seat of the Kosovska Mitrovica District. The name of the city means "wolf's thorn", the name of the spiny restharrow plant in Serbian....
were renovated by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which began to train cadets.
As of February 2008, when Kosovo declared independence
2008 Kosovo declaration of independence
The 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence was adopted on 17 February 2008 by individual members of the Assembly of Kosovo acting in personal capacity and not binding to the Assembly itself...
, the force became a governmental agency
Government agency
A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...
of the Government
Government of Kosovo
The Cabinet of Kosovo is the collection of Kosovo institutions that exercises executive authority in Kosovo. It is headed by the Prime Minister of Kosovo, and also includes the deputy prime ministers as well as various ministers.The Prime Minister is elected by the Assembly of the Republic...
of the Republic of Kosovo. Before, it was subordinated to the UNMIK Police, and the police commissioner retained command authority over both the international police and the Kosovo Police.
The Kosovo Police has grown steadily since 1999, and in 2004 reached its planned full size of nearly 7,000 officers. As of 2010, it has around 9,000 employees. About 85% of Kosovo Police officers are ethnic Albanians, 15% are ethnic Serbs and other ethnic minorities.
Specialized units and breakdown
The bulk of the Kosovo Police are patrol officers. However the force has specialized investigative units in all six regions, including Organized Crime Units, Forensics Units, and several others. In addition to those specialist units in the investigative side of law enforcement, every region has a Regional Operational Support Unit (called ROSU), who are specially trained for times where forced entry is needed on search warrants, as well as acting as front line officers during riot situations, or in times when crowd control is necessary. The Kosovo Police Close Protection unit serves as the body guards for visiting heads of state, and for Kosovo's own political leaders.The first ROSU in the country of Kosovo was for the capital Prishtina and was originally called Regional Street Crimes Unit in early 2002. That unit was based in Kosovo Polje and was used to support all regions as needed. Later due to successes of that unit and additional responsibilities in the team mission to include support of CPU on high risk principals, the name was changed to ROSU and duplicate units were placed in each region of Kosovo. The idea was to operate each unit as a separate "troop" with a commander reporting to the mission commander similar to how the State Police operate in the United States.
Close Protection Unit
The Close Protection Unit within the Kosovo Police was established on 21 January 2002.The main task of the Close Protection Unit is to provide personal protection to VIPs. In addition, the Close Protection Unit provides protection for persons believed to be subject to threats.
The Close Protection Unit also undertakes tactical operations, escorting delegations, and evacuations of both international staff and Kosovo Police officers.
Special Intervention Unit SIU (Former GSI / SIG - FIT)
This KPS special police unit was created in 2003. The start was a standard SWAT unit (2 teams of 15 officers each) trained by (2) American contractors. In March 2005 the "Special Intervention Group – GSI / SIG" project ("Grupi Special i Intervenimit GSI" in Albanian or "Specijalna Interventna Grupa SIG" in Serbian) was launched on a low-profile bases as the Elite "CT" & "HR" force of Kosovo Police. A strict selection policy was followed through several firm tests; and only (18) trainees were selected among hundreds of willing volunteer officers to be the first generation of the unit. It was formed, established, equipped, coached and trained by a team of UNMIK professional specialized instructors who worked within that field in their native countries (1) "French PI", (1) "Egyptian HRF", (1) "German SEK" and (1) "Bulgarian SP OPS" trainers, in addition to (1) "US CPU" trainer, (1) "Danish PT" coach, and (1) German GSG-9 operator. That experienced team was led firstly by the French "GIPN", then the Egyptian "HRF" Trainer who became the 1st Commander of the GSI. By the end of 2006 due to certain difficulties the project was converted to a standard "SWAT" police unit level under the name of "FIT" (First Intervention Team. This project was developed and implemented by French military Gendarmerie Nationale members :Officer and NCO's from PI (Intervention Platoon). One US SWAT instructor and one Turkish Police officer intended the different training periods . In the late 2007 the Unit started its upgrading to face new challenges and ever changing threats. It took the name of SIU, stands for Specialized Intervention Unit.End of 2008 UNMIK handed the task over to EULEX (European Union Rule of Law mission)
The international contribution is currently continuing through the mentoring-monitoring-advising tasks, accompanying the FIT/SIU on the way of the full autonomy.
K-9 Unit
K-9 unit of Kosovo Police is established in November 2002. The first generation on behalf of K-9 unit had seven officers. These officers have completed basic training in Great Britain continuing with further trainings with international instructors. In 2000, K-9 unit began to operate with five police patrol dogs and five dogs for narcotics detections.K-9 unit performs different police operation with seven police patrol dogs, three dogs for narcotics detections and one for explosives detection. K-9 unit has three local instructors who organize trainings for young officers envisaged to be part of K-9 unit.
The Motorcyclists Unit
The Motorcyclists Unit functions within the Kosovo Police. The first generation of this Unit is established on 29 August 2003 and 7 police officers were trained by the international instructors.Second generation is trained in the second half of 2003 with 5 police officers while the third generation with 9 police officers is trained in 2004. In 2005 is trained fourth generation with twelve police officers, while currently the Motorcycles Unit has 32 police officers.
The main responsibility of the Motorcyclists Unit is to escort of very important persons (VIP).
See also
- Kosovo Bomb Squad (IED/EOD)Bomb Squad (IED/EOD) KosovoThe Kosovo Police's Bomb Squad was established in March 2006, prompted by the necessity to protect citizens’ lives and property, and to assist in investigation of crime-related cases....
- Kosovo Protection CorpsKosovo Protection CorpsThe Kosovo Protection Corps was a civilian emergency services organisation in Kosovo active from 1999 to 2009.The KPC was created on September 21, 1999 through the promulgation of UNMIK Regulation 1999/8 and the agreement of a "Statement of Principles" on the KPC's permitted role in Kosovo...
- Kosovo Security ForceKosovo Security ForceThe Kosovo Security Force is an emergency response force charged with conducting operations in Kosovo and abroad in the areas of Search and Rescue, Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Firefighting, and Hazardous Material Disposal. It is widely assumed that the KSF will take on an additional defense...
- Kosovo Force (KFOR)
- International PoliceInternational PoliceThe International Police is the title used for an organization of police officers representing various countries throughout the world, brought together to assist in the training, organization, stabilization of a destabilized region, or creation of indigenous police forces primarily in war-torn...
- Triumf RizaTriumf RizaTriumf Riza was a police officer, and member of an elite protection unit with the fledgling Kosovo Police Service, who was killed in the line of duty during an ongoing clash with the Enver Sekiraqa gang, an Ethnic Albanian crime syndicate that operates in Kosovo...