Kosovo Police (Albanian: Policia e Kosovës; Serbian: Коsovska Policia) is the police law enforcement agency of the Republic of Kosovo.
It was created in 1999 in the aftermath of the Kosovo War and subsequent withdrawal of the Yugoslav armed forces from Kosovo.
The establishment of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) included a large international policing component, called the UNMIK Police. They were given two main tasks by UN Security Council Resolution 1244: 1) to establish a new police force; 2) in the meantime, to maintain civil law and order. The name for the new police force, "Kosovo Police Service", was chosen by the first international police commissioner, Sven Frederiksen. Recruitment began immediately, and former police school premises in the city of Vushtrri were renovated by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which began to train cadets.
As of February 2008, when Kosovo declared independence, the force became a governmental agency of the Government of the Republic of Kosovo. Before, it was subordinated to the UNMIK Police, and the police commissioner retained command authority over both the international police and the Kosovo Police.
The Kosovo Police has grown steadily since 1999, and in 2004 reached its planned full size of nearly 7,000 officers. As of 2010, it has around 9,000 employees. About 85% of Kosovo Police officers are ethnic Albanians, 15% are ethnic Serbs and other ethnic minorities.
Read more about Kosovo Police: Specialized Units and Breakdown
Famous quotes containing the word police:
“He took control of me for forty-five minutes. This time I’ll have control over him for the rest of his life. If he gets out fifteen years from now, I’ll know. I’ll check on him every three months through police computers. If he makes one mistake he’s going down again. I’ll make sure. I’m his worst enemy now.”
—Elizabeth Wilson, U.S. crime victim. As quoted in People magazine, p. 88 (May 31, 1993)