UNMIK/PR/1239
PRISTINA - SRSG Søren Jessen-Petersen and COMKFOR General Yves de Kermabon have welcomed the move to establish Local Crime Prevention Councils in all municipalities across Kosovo.
The Local Crime Prevention Councils will work as consultative bodies, bringing together representatives of each ethnic community in the municipality, religious leaders, representatives of the board of education as well as KFOR, Police and OSCE, in order to address the security concerns of all stakeholders at the grass root level and identify concrete steps that can enhance community security.
Welcoming the initiative, the SRSG stated: “Consultation and communication on security issues at the local level between all stakeholders will develop trust and confidence among communities and increase the ability of Police to be more responsive to community needs, thus enhancing the effectiveness of security measures.”
COMKFOR, General Yves de Kermabon, added, ” When speaking about security, I already insisted on the fact that security is in the hands of every citizen in Kosovo. The Local Crime Prevention Councils are a great initiative on the way for restoring confidence.”
Local Crime Prevention Councils have already been working in municipalities in the Prizren region and similar bodies are now being established in all municipalities across Kosovo. Today, the DSRSG for Pillar I (Police & Justice) Mr Jean-Christian Cady addressed the inaugural session of the Local Crime Prevention Council in the Novo Brdo municipality.