UNMIK/PR/1608
UNMIK Countdown #2
PRISTINA - UNMIK Police, together with the Kosovo Police Service (KPS), has successfully investigated 182,983 cases, established 33 police stations and 13 border/boundary control points, policing Kosovo for seven years through the range of activities from beat patrols and traffic checks to sophisticated investigations into serious crimes. During this time, in cooperation with the OSCE, 8,270 KPS officers have been recruited, trained and deployed through the chain of command from the police stations up to the Main Headquarters level and into various specialised police departments.
“I cannot but wonder how officers from more than 50 different countries could have gone about policing the streets of Kosovo where there were no street signs, traffic signals or even the basic police infrastructure to begin with,” says UNMIK Police Commissioner Stephen Curtis, “From then to now, UNMIK Police has come a long way – securing order from chaos, inculcating public confidence in the institution of policing, disrupting and deterring criminal activity on a comprehensive scale – very ably supported by a professional Kosovo Police Service that it helped build. This unprecedented exercise in democratic policing carries its own message of security founded on respect for the rule of law rather than fear of authority.”
Deployed under the authority of UN Security Council Resolution 1244, UNMIK Police was tasked to provide interim law enforcement services, including border security, while undertaking rapid development of a credible, professional and impartial Kosovo Police Service (KPS). Between July 1999 and June 2000, UNMIK Police took over complete investigative and executive policing responsibilities from KFOR.
From a peak of more than 3,300 police officers from more than 50 countries in the year 2001, UNMIK Police today has a greatly reduced presence of 1,391 officers from 44 countries. With the KPS now holding the command of all 33 police stations and five Regional Police Headquarters, UNMIK Police has assumed a support and monitoring role while retaining overall supervisory authority of the UNMIK Police Commissioner.
In the attachments we provide a graphic profile of UNMIK Police and the crime trend through these years.
Note to Editors: With UNMIK in its final phase before status resolution, the Division of Public Information senses an increasing historical focus by local and international media on Kosovo. Therefore, in this special series of weekly press releases we offer news and information about the UN Mission in Kosovo during the past seven years. The press releases seek to provide useful information about UNMIK, including quotes from officials as well as photos and web links.