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Community-based
policing and community safety
Background
The purpose of this project
is the successful implementation in selected local areas
of community-based policing and community safety
strategies, thereby promoting localised policing that is
accountable, effective and accessible to all.
The project, which was
launched in October 2003, consists of the following three
components:
·
Component One:
supporting the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) in the
development of community-based policing and community
safety models, suited to the needs of all communities in
Kosovo.
·
Component Two:
assisting the KPS in the implementation of community-based
policing in two pilot sites, the municipalities of Fushė
Kosovė/Kosovo Polje and Vushtrri/Vučitrn. This has
involved working with police officers to improve
leadership, management and basic community policing
skills.
·
Component Three:
facilitating the implementation of community safety
partnerships at the two selected pilot sites. This has
involved working with the KPS, municipal authorities,
diverse communities, NGOs and other stakeholders to
establish consultative groups, initiate crime and disorder
audits and create action plans to deal with issues
highlighted by those audits.
The lessons learned from
the activities at both pilot sites are now informing
policy at the centre, and will help guide the development
of a strategy to roll out community-based policing across
the whole of Kosovo.
Progress so far
In
the pilot sites
A community safety and
crime prevention council has now been formed in Fushė
Kosovė/Kosovo Polje. This council is jointly chaired by
the President of the Municipality and the UN Municipal
Representative, an indication of the growing partnership
between the two arms of the local government. The
councils first undertaking was to provide local oversight
of the national elections in October 2004, an event which
passed virtually trouble-free in the municipality.
The council has since set
up a new initiative to build confidence amongst potential
returnees. This focuses on improving the exchange of
information between key agencies, assigning dedicated
patrol officers to different sectors of the municipality,
fostering community dialogue and supporting KPS officers
to educate the community on the principles of good
citizenship.
Considerable progress has
also been made in Vushtrri/Vučitrn. The municipalitys
community safety strategy council, chaired by the Mayor
and encompassing a range of stakeholders and community
representatives, has met to develop a vision for community
safety in the municipality. The project has strengthened
the councils capacity to categorise and prioritise
community safety issues, and to carry out crime and
disorder audits, through a workshop hosted by the KPS
School in December 2004. A local community safety and
crime prevention strategic plan, building on the vision
and the results of the workshop, is now being drafted.
Six Village Co-ordinators
workshops have also taken place in Vushtrri/Vučitrn. The
first of these, attended by municipal representatives as
well as officers of the KPS, focused on encouraging the
return of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), reducing
community tensions and discussing steps to improve public
confidence in the KPS. These discussions continued at the
subsequent workshops, during which the KPS presented a
report on ways of improving police/community relations.
The workshops were attended by a great number of people:
on one occasion 36 participants, including both Serbian
and Ashkali village representatives. This is a major
achievement and an indication of the great courage and
commitment of the community members.
The Vushtrri/Vučitrn
community is now more closely involved in the design and
delivery of police training courses. A joint
police/community problem-solving workshop has also been
held, focusing on the Serbian village of Priluzje. This
workshop resulted in a detailed action plan covering a
number of activities public meetings on the freedom of
movement, cultural and sporting inter-community
activities, school exchange visits and joint fact-finding
missions all of which will help to address the safety
and security concerns of Priluzjes citizens.
At
the centre
The application of the
principles of community-based policing and community
safety at the two pilot sites is now being used to help
determine best practice for wider use in Kosovo. Project
activities are now increasingly focused at the centre,
supporting the Kosovo Community-Based Policing Steering
Group (KCBP-SG), a body which draws together key decision
makers and holds responsibility for the oversight of
community-based policing and community safety across
Kosovo.
Activities so far at the
centre have included:
·
The development of a mapping document which identifies all
the community-based policing and community safety
initiatives currently underway in Kosovo. This document
will help promote greater co-ordination between the
various agencies involved in the community-based policing
and community safety fields.
·
The drafting of an Operational Handbook on community-based
policing, which is now being adopted and promulgated by
the KPS across Kosovo.
·
The preparation of a Kosovo-wide Community Safety
Strategy, which includes practical guidance for the
KCBP-SG on how best to support community safety and crime
prevention councils at the municipal level, and how to
maintain effective oversight of their activities. This
Strategy is the result of extensive consultation with the
members of the KCBP-SG, municipal representatives and
civil society, and will contribute to the achievement of
targets set out in the Rule of Law section of the Kosovo
Standards Implementation Plan.
The pilot
sites
Fushė
Kosovė/Kosovo Polje
This
municipality consists of 18 villages, 3 of which are
inhabited by Kosovo Serbs. The village of Bresje and Fushė
Kosovė/Kosovo Polje town are mixed areas. There is also a
community of Ashkali, numbering approximately 2,300, as
well as a small group of around 400 Roma. Tensions remain
between Kosova Albanian and Kosovo Serb communities, and
incidents of harrassment continue to be reported. However,
in comparison with other ethnically-mixed municipalities,
Fushė Kosovė/Kosovo Polje is now calm, and an increasing
degree of mutual co-operation between communities now
underpins the pilot work.
Vushtrri/Vučitrn
This
municipality consists of 66 villages, of which 61are
predominantly Kosova Albanian and 5 primarily Kosovo Serb.
There is also an Ashkali population consisting of
approximately 400 individuals and a small community of
about 130 Roma. Most violence today takes place within the
Kosovo Albanian community, and is thus not ethnically
motivated. Nevertheless, minorities in Vushtrri/Vučitrn
still suffer a lack of security and a lack of freedom of
movement. It is therefore important to find ways to build
trust between communities and the police, and to develop
community-based policing and community safety models for
the municipality which bring their good ideas and
intentions together.
March 2005
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