OSCE Kosovo Mission begins specialized police and public safety training programmes
Kosovo police school cadets during training. (Lubomir Kotek/OSCE) Photo details
PRISTINA, 11 November 2003 - The OSCE-run Kosovo Police Service School (KPSS) this week begins a series of advanced training programmes for the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) and public safety agencies.
The KPSS has developed specific curricula for courses in special weapons and tactics (SWAT), hostage negotiations, and investigation into arson cases. These courses will provide essential training and skill development in specialised police training and help to institutionalise professional standards of public safety.
"The KPS must be able to perform the same duties and responsibilities in the future as the United Nations Police. The SWAT training is one of the many advanced courses towards achieving this goal," said Douglass Madden, acting Director of the OSCE Mission's Department of Police Education, which oversees the KPSS.
The SWAT course is designed for specially selected Officers in the KPS Special Police Unit. The first class of 15 KPS Officers have this week started the three-week training course to provide them with the basic knowledge, skills and abilities they need to plan and conduct tactical operations in hostage and other crisis situations. The selected candidates underwent intensive firearms and physical training.
The KPSS is also undertaking a specialised course in hostage negotiations. The topics include hostage negotiation procedures and an overview of hostage situations. Another course is designed to provide training to the KPS, Forensics and Kosovo Fire and Rescue officers in investigating incidents of arson. The course was developed with and supported by the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) of the United States Department of Justice.
As part of its mandate, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo is entrusted with providing basic police training for at least 6,400 locally recruited police officers by the end of December 2004. The School also aims to broaden its role by increasing the capacity of local institutions involved in public safety.
The KPSS has developed specific curricula for courses in special weapons and tactics (SWAT), hostage negotiations, and investigation into arson cases. These courses will provide essential training and skill development in specialised police training and help to institutionalise professional standards of public safety.
"The KPS must be able to perform the same duties and responsibilities in the future as the United Nations Police. The SWAT training is one of the many advanced courses towards achieving this goal," said Douglass Madden, acting Director of the OSCE Mission's Department of Police Education, which oversees the KPSS.
The SWAT course is designed for specially selected Officers in the KPS Special Police Unit. The first class of 15 KPS Officers have this week started the three-week training course to provide them with the basic knowledge, skills and abilities they need to plan and conduct tactical operations in hostage and other crisis situations. The selected candidates underwent intensive firearms and physical training.
The KPSS is also undertaking a specialised course in hostage negotiations. The topics include hostage negotiation procedures and an overview of hostage situations. Another course is designed to provide training to the KPS, Forensics and Kosovo Fire and Rescue officers in investigating incidents of arson. The course was developed with and supported by the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) of the United States Department of Justice.
As part of its mandate, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo is entrusted with providing basic police training for at least 6,400 locally recruited police officers by the end of December 2004. The School also aims to broaden its role by increasing the capacity of local institutions involved in public safety.