The OSCE Mission promotes strengthening of the security and public safety sector in Kosovo. It provides assistance and capacity building to public safety agencies and their training units.

Kosovo Centre for Public Safety Education and Development

The creation of public safety institutions in Kosovo started from scratch in 1999. One of the initial tasks of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, back then, was to establish a police school and train the new Kosovo police. The Kosovo police school developed over time and started providing training to other public safety agencies such as customs and correctional services. In 2006, the police school was renamed the Kosovo Centre for Public Safety Education and Development (KCPSED) and the managerial responsibility was handed over to local institutions. The Mission now supports the KCPSED through capacity building activities. It is also helping the KCPSED to complete the accreditation and certification procedures in line with the European Qualification Framework and Bologna criteria and become a certified higher education institution.

Combating organized crime

Organized crime is a complex phenomenon which involves groups that conduct various illicit activities ranging from trafficking in human beings and drugs to money laundering and cyber crime. It affects all aspects of life: it violates human rights, harms the economy, brings financial loses to individuals and is corrosive to the general welfare of society.

The OSCE Mission in Kosovo assists law enforcement agencies mandated with fighting organized crime and identifying and addressing potential terrorism threats. The Mission provides them with advanced and specialized trainings in combating organized crime, develops their training capacities and is helping them to improve and implement their strategies.

In addition, the Mission supports Kosovo police with the implementation of the intelligence-led-policing concept, which uses police intelligence to predict and prevent potential criminal activities.

Community policing and safety awareness

Community policing can help reduce crime and fear among residents, and contribute to inter-ethnic reconciliation and the general wellbeing of the community. The Mission supports the implementation of the community policing concept, which helps to ensure equal opportunities for all communities to work with the police and solve various issues of security and public safety. The Mission further helps improve the relationship between the public and the police by supporting public safety awareness raising campaigns and associated communications and outreach efforts.

Police oversight

Public trust in the work of the police is crucial to stability in Kosovo. The Mission has therefore helped to establish the Police Inspectorate of Kosovo, which is there to ensure the application of good governance practices within the Kosovo police, conduct internal oversight, and investigate complaints against police officers. The Mission supports the Inspectorate by further developing the auditing, investigations and reporting skills of its staff.