UNMIK/PR/1409
PRISTINA – SRSG Søren Jessen-Petersen this morning visited the Kosovo Police Service School in Vushtrri-Vucitrn, where he praised KPS as “one of the success stories in Kosovo in terms of its diversity”.
The SRSG addressed the staff of the KPSS and the 359 students currently undergoing basic police training. “Each of you who graduates from this Academy becomes the everyday, public face of authority in Kosovo,” the SRSG said, “This will become truer still when the new Kosovo Ministry of Public Order is established later this year and as the number of UNMIK police is gradually reduced. But with authority comes responsibility and accountability…You will stand in the front line between intolerance and tolerance; between stability and instability – and it is essential that you stand your ground.”
“Events like the disgusting drive-by killing of two young men near Štrpce/Shtërpcë last Saturday must become a thing of the past in Kosovo, and you will be playing a part in making this happen,” the SRSG said. He underlined the importance of rule of law in building a democratic, stable, tolerant, and multi-ethnic society. He said, “The society must respect their police, the police must respect the society and the police is the key institution in building a rule of law based society in Kosovo.”
Since its establishment in July 1999, the KPS School has turned out 30 classes constituting a total of 7,289 Police Officers, including 84% Kosovo-Albanian, 10% Kosovo Serbs and 6% from other ethnic groups. Women make up 15% of the graduated police officers.
“I am delighted by the diversity of the group that stands before me now – female and male, Albanian and Serb,” the SRSG said, adding: “The Kosovo Police Service has continually been in the forefront in ensuring the multi-ethnicity in its ranks. And, as I have said before, the KPS has realised – sooner than others have – that this diversity is a strength. That is a credit to the Service. Let us hope that other organisations and institutions will follow in the KPS’s footsteps and find the same strength in diversity.”
The SRSG thanked the OSCE for what he termed “construction work of the best kind”. He said, “The KPS is in many ways a model of bottom-up capacity building and the OSCE was a driving force in this. The OSCE is, and will continue to be, one of the key international players helping to move Kosovo towards the democratic, multi-ethnic and European future we all wish for it.”
In addition to the 20 week Basic Training Course, the KPS School also provides supervisor/management training and runs several specialized/advance courses.