The Kosovo Police is an executive agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MoIA) which deals with law enforcement, and it’s responsible for preserving public order and providing safety in Kosovo.

By Plator Avdiu (KCSS), Skender Perteshi (KCSS) and Mentor Vrajolli (KCSS)
@KCSSQKSS

Introduction

The international administration in 1999 started the process of building police service responsible for maintaining the rule of law and security in Kosovo. From this time the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) was established with the support of OSCE, UNMIK and other international organizations. During this period the KPS was under command and control of the UNMIK mission in Kosovo, which has changed through reform and development. Following Kosovo’s Declaration of Independence on 17 February 2008, the KPS changed its name to the Kosovo Police (KP), and became completely independent of UNMIK.

Today, the KP is an executive agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MoIA) which deals with law enforcement in Kosovo. In particular, the KP functions under the authority of the Minister of the Internal Affairs and under the control and supervision of the General Director of the KP. The Minister’s authority does not include the operational management of the KP.[1]

Based on Kosovo’s Constitution, the KP is responsible for preserving public order and providing safety throughout Kosovo. It is also responsible for the border control functions which are exercised in direct cooperation with local and international authorities. The KP is subject to civilian control and democratic oversight. The Kosovo Police, according to its legal framework, is responsible to protect the life, property and offer safety for all people, to protect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all citizens, to prevent the risk to citizens and maintain the public order and safety, to detect and prevent criminal acts and offenders, to investigate criminal acts and offenders, to supervise and control for traffic safety, to manage and control the state border, to provide assistance during natural disasters and other emergencies as well as to perform other duties as foreseen by applicable law.[2]

Structurally, it is a professional organization and reflects the gender and ethnic diversity of the general population of Kosovo[3] (see Table 1 and Table 2).[4]

Table 1: Total number of the Kosovo Police Officers (males and females)[5]

Table 2: Data on representation of all communities in the Kosovo Police[6]

The Kosovo Academy for Public Safety is the institution responsible for providing training and higher education for all the security institutions in Kosovo, including the members of the KP.[7] Before becoming member of the KP, the candidates have to complete 3-9 months training at the Kosovo Academy for Public Safety. The Department of Human Resources is responsible for all the procedures of recruitment into the KP structures, as well as holding responsibility for the overall performance of Police Officers and increasing the professional capacities of the KP. At the same time this department has responsibility for making modifications to training and curriculums, and drafting of new policies and programs.[8] The KP director has a mandate to coordinate the administrative functions of the Police, including, but not limited to, the maintenance of Police data and telecommunications systems, recruitment, training and education of Police personnel, management of budget and financial matters, procurement and management of the KP assets and facilities.[9]

Competences and territories

Police Service

Based on the current legal framework, the KP is organized on a central and local level. The General Police Directorate has a responsibility for policing at the central level.[10] The local level includes the Regional Police Directorates, which are responsible for regions comprising of specified municipalities through Police Stations. They are in charge of local policing within each municipality and Police substation, and are responsible for local policing within specific areas of a municipality. The territorial jurisdiction of each Regional Directorate is defined by the KP’s General Director. In addition, the territory of each KP’s Police Station has to be aligned coterminous with the municipality where it is located. Similarly to the Regional Directorates, the territorial jurisdiction of Police substations is also defined by the General Directorate of the KP. With regard to the internal organizational structure of the KP, the latter, according to the Law on Police, it should be defined by the General Director of the KP upon the approval of the Minister of Internal Affairs. Furthermore, the General Director may establish Police units to perform specific and temporary duties, with such tasks also subject to approval by the Minister of Internal Affairs.

Table 3: Territorial structure of the Regional Police Directorates and Police Stations of the Kosovo Police[11]

With the aim of managing Police operations effectively, the KP, according to law, is divided into regions which, wherever possible, are aligned with the boundaries of judicial districts. The components that should be taken into account when it comes to establishing the territorial jurisdiction of the Regional Directorates are the size of region, the number of inhabitants, the level of crime, geographical position, significant buildings and roads, and other infrastructure.[13] In total the KP has eight Regional Directorates, and each of them is made up of its Police Stations. In addition, the KP is organized into the respective departments which operate within the General Police Directorate: Department of Public Order; Department against Crime; Department of Border; Department of Support Services; Department of Administration and Personnel; and Crime Laboratory Centre.[14]

Ministry of Interior Affairs

As provided by the Law on Police, the KP operates under the authority of the Minister of Internal Affairs and under the control and supervision of the General Director of the Police. The authority of the Minister does not include the operational management of the KP. But the General Director of the KP is required to report to the Minister and is directly accountable to the Minister of Internal Affairs regarding the Administration and Management of the Police. In regard to the KP, the Minister of Internal Affairs has the right to develop policies and to support the preparation and implementation of legislation, to oversee coordination between the Police and other public authorities with respect to border crossing control, to oversee coordination between the Police and other agencies, international responsible organizations in the field of public order and safety, to develop and implement strategies on public relations and relations with other responsible public bodies in the field of public order and safety, to collect, maintain and analyse statistical data and information, and to perform functions related to preparations for emergency cases. The General Director cooperates with the Minister and provides him/her with information and reports in accordance with the law.[15]

The strategic priorities of the MoIA include various fields of competencies, such as the building of appropriate legal infrastructure; to ensure the application of the law; to ensure the protection of life and property; to ensure the freedom of movement for citizens of Kosovo; to prevent and reduce the crime; to preserve public order and security; to develop cooperation with all agencies and EU organizations; and to develop an effective and efficient Ministry.[16] The MoIA is organized into seven departments with specific duties, namely the Department of Budget and Finance; Department of Central Administration; Department of Citizenship, Asylum and Migration; Department of Public Safety; Legal Department; Department of Public Procurement; and Department for Reintegration for Repatriated Persons.[17]

Accountability and integrity

Internal control

Kosovo Police Inspectorate (KPI) functions based on the Law no 03/L-231 that entered into force on the 1st of December 2010. The KPI combines the two primary functions in pursuit of the principles of accountability and transparency – the pillars of a democratic Police: prevention, detection, documentation and investigation into the criminal offences committed by Police employees, regardless of position and gender during the exercising of duty or off duty, also including the investigations of high profile disciplinary incidents and disciplinary investigation of the Police Officers with the highest grade of managerial level and senior executive level officers. The second function is related to the inspection of the KP structures and functions in order to ensure accountability, efficiency and effectiveness when enforcing laws, sub legal laws and when putting standard operating procedures into force.[19]

The mission of the KPI is through its measures to ensure an accountable, democratic and transparent Police service, in compliance with the applicable legislation and the required standard.[20] It conducts investigations and/or inspections of high profile incidents inspection, where all employees of the KP are included, as determined in article 4, paragraph 1, and sub paragraph 1.11 of the Law on the KPI. The latter investigates all alleged disciplinary violations of Police Officers within the highest rank of the managerial level and Police Officers of the senior executive level. Furthermore, it receives all citizen complaints and reviews with determination the complaints which are investigated by the KPI and which will be referred to the KP or to the responsible institutions.[21]

The Department of Procurement within the MoIA is responsible for maintaining and overseeing the process of procurement in the MoIA. This department prepares the procurement plan and strategy for MoIA by ensuring that all procurement requests for goods, services, works or consultation services are signed by authorized persons and are in compliance with the procurement procedures; organizes the work and procurement activities by ensuring that all procurement procedures are developed in compliance with the legislation in force regulating the procurement procedures in Kosovo; organizes the procedures and quotation of prices and the tenders depending on the estimated price and based on limits determines the procurement method; offers advices and suggestions for implementation of procurement procedures and in close cooperation with the Permanent Secretary takes decisions regarding the problems occurring in the implementation of contracts by different contractors; cooperates with responsible people of the departments regarding the problems of drafting the procurement plan, requests for procurement, financial problems, logistics and analyses the achievements, difficulties, restrictions within the ministry from the procurement aspect; and organizes regular meetings with the procurement staff, participates in the meetings where within MoIA, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual reports are drafted for all procurement activities carried out by this department.[22] Meanwhile, since 2010 the Procurement Office is established within the KP. The latter is responsible for all procurement activities of the KP.[23] The General Directorate Police is provided with duties as to management of budget and financial matter, procurement and management of police assets and facilities.[24]

Internal audit plays a significant role in the overall performance of the MoIA and the KP in supporting their efficient internal control, enhancing their performance and overall operations, as well as rationalizing the expenses of public finances and institutional governance in general.  Internal audit within MIA is conducted through its Internal Audit Unit, which is consisted of the small number of staff, namely its director and 3 auditing officials. Considering the scope of work that this unit covers, the small number of staff remains the greatest challenge of its performance. This also results in limited number of solid audits conducted by this unit. The problem triggers even more problems when considering the complexity of the MIA institution, as a body made of huge number of departments and agencies.[25] On the other hand, it is important to mention that the internal audit within the KP is separate to the one in the MoIA. The KP internal audit is performed by the Internal Audit Unit of the KP, which consists of 4 officials and the director. The internal auditor is under the supervision of the Minister and reports to him/her directly. As such, the internal audit within the KP stands at a more satisfactory level than the one in the MoIA; however, increasing the number of internal auditors would improve and increase the number of internal audits within the KP. This is mainly because the number of regular audits within the KP is relatively small compared to the budget and its geographic distribution.[26]

External oversight

The Assembly Committee on Internal Affairs, Security and Supervision of the Kosovo Security Force

This Committee operates based on the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly of Kosovo. Within its scope of work and accountability it reviews all issues related to internal security, namely in developing and overseeing policies and strategies for internal security; overseeing, increasing and structuring the security system in Kosovo; overseeing expenditures and management of finances by the MoIA, in particular expenditures of the KP. The Committee reviews the draft budget and the budget of the MoIA, making recommendations to the Committee on Budget and Finance, and recommending its adoption by the Assembly, together with amendments.[27]

Ombudsperson

The powers of the Ombudsperson include the authority to receive and investigate complaints from every person in Kosovo that claims his/her human rights have been violated by the public institutions of Kosovo.[28] If it is concluded that a public authority has indeed violated human rights, the Ombudsperson is entitled to directly intervene with the relevant authorities, which are required to respond within a reasonable time. This intervention can also include a recommendation to the competent authorities that disciplinary or criminal proceedings be initiated against specific, incriminated persons, or that the enforcement of a decision against a person is delayed, i.e. a decision would not be enforced while the Ombudsperson is investigating the case.[29]

Office of the Auditor General

The functions and responsibilities of the Auditor General of Kosovo are regulated by the Constitution of Kosovo and the Law on the Establishment of the Office of the Auditor General of Kosovo and the Audit Office of Kosovo. The Constitution states that the Auditor General of Kosovo is the highest institution for economic and financial control.[30] In this capacity, the Auditor General has a constitutional obligation to audit the economic activity of public institutions and other legal state persons; the use and safeguarding of public funds by central and local authorities; and the economic activity of public enterprises and other legal persons in which the State holds shares or loans, credits and liabilities guaranteed by the State.[31]

Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA)

The ACA is an independent institution specializing in the implementation of state policies for combating and preventing corruption.[32] As an independent institution, it is protected by the Constitution of Kosovo, which guarantees that it can exercise its functions independently from any other body or authority in Kosovo.[33] In addition, the ACA has its own budget which is administered independently in accordance with the law, and every public authority in Kosovo is obliged to cooperate with it.[34] The ACA reports to the Assembly of Kosovo and to the Assembly Oversight Commission of the ACA, which the Assembly of Kosovo is required to establish.[35] The current legal framework of the ACA defines obligations of senior public officials to declare their property, revenues and the origin and obligation of the ACA to control declared property and the origin of property as well as the obligations of all public senior officials to declare gifts and the origin of gifts. With regard to the KP officials who should follow this procedure, the law states that they are the KP’s General Director, Deputy Directors and Regional Directors of Kosovo and Head of the KPI.[36]

National Agency for Protection of Personal Data (NAPPD)

The role, mandate and responsibilities of the NAPPD is to make sure that controllers respect their obligations regarding personal data protection, and that subjects of personal data are informed about their rights and obligations in accordance with the Law on Personal Data Protection. The NAPPD independently assures internal application of legal provisions and maintains a filing system register.[37] According to its legal framework, the NAPPD advices the public institutions, including the KP, in all matters related to data protection including the interpretation and application of relevant laws.[38] In 2012 the KP signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the NAPPD through which the KP provides assistance to the NAPPD in the implementation of the Law on the Protection of Personal Data.[39]

Public Procurement Regulatory Commission (PPRC)

According to the Law on Public Procurement of Kosovo, the PPRC is responsible for the overall development, operation and supervision of the public procurement system in Kosovo and carries out the functions assigned by this law. One of the functions given to the PPRC by the Law is to establish and maintain an information website that provides the public with unrestricted access for all information concerning the public procurement in Kosovo.[40] As with other institutions, this Law applies to the KP with respect to public procurement system.

On the other hand, the Procurement Review Body (PRB) is responsible for carrying out complaint procedures for the review of procurement cases in accordance with the Law on Public Procurement and it has authority and legal responsibility for this part of the law. On basis of a written request/complaint of an Economic Operator or a Contracting Authority, the PRB is authorized to review such a request/complaint, and in accordance with legal terms to issue a decision in writing of such cases, which is subject to the public procurement review. In addition, the PRB has the authorization and responsibility to review and decide upon the validity of each action, decision, measure, interpretation or regulation issue, used or promulgated by the Central Procurement Agency or the PPRC. All decisions and orders of the PRB, issued in accordance with current legal framework may be reviewed by a Court (Supreme Court of Kosovo) through a complaints procedure. The PRB reports to the Assembly of Kosovo once per year on the performance of public procurement review procedures.[41]

Police Powers

The Law on Police provide the framework in regard to the powers of the KP and its Police Officers. During the performance of Police duties, a Police Officer has the power to impose reasonable control on people and property within his/her jurisdiction and power to issue and enforce lawful orders and instructions for members of society in general to achieve legitimate Police objectives. Also, the Law describes the general powers and limitations of a Police Officer when performing duties related to prevention of the risk and maintenance of public order and safety. The powers and limitations of a Police Officer during the performance of duties related to criminal investigation are generally described by other laws including, but not limited to, the Criminal Procedure Code of the Republic of Kosovo. Additional powers of the Police Officers include the duties to patrol the border, control trans-border traffic, examine border crossing documents, and enter into private property along the border, except they may not enter into private residences but may enter into railway stations, airports, trains and airplanes.[42]

The right of the KP Police Officers’ to use force and firearms are also foreseen by the Law. Police Officers are responsible to use force only when strictly necessary and only to the extent required to achieve a legitimate Police objective. They may use force to protect a person’s life, to prevent an attack, to prevent a criminal act, to prevent the flight of a perpetrator, or, when other measures are not successful, to achieve another legitimate Police objective. According to the Law on Police, the Police Officer uses his/her discretion to determine the type of force suitable and the limits on the use of force. However, he/she takes into account the specific circumstances, the nature of the criminal act, the degree of danger to other persons who are present and the physical, mental and emotional condition of the person against whom the force is to be used.[43] When it comes to the possession of a firearm, a Police Officer is authorized to use a firearm only when strictly necessary and only up to the level intended to achieve the legitimate Police objective, and only when its use is proportional to the degree of danger and to the seriousness of the offence in the situation and only if it is considered that the use of less force will ensure the legitimate Police objective will not be achieved. Moreover, a Police Officer is authorized to use a firearm against a person only when less extreme means are insufficient to defend the Police Officers own life or the life of another person from an imminent attack; to prevent the imminent commission or continuation of a criminal offense involving grave threat to life; to arrest a person presenting an imminent threat to the life of another person who is resisting orders lawfully issued by the Police Officer; and to prevent the escape of a person presenting an imminent threat to the life of another person and who is resisting orders lawfully issued by the Police Officer.[44]

Endnotes

[1] Law No. 04/L-076 on Police, Article 5, p. 4.

[2] Law No. 04/L-076 on Police, Article 10, p. 6.

[3] Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, Article 128, p. 48.

[4] For more information on gender and ethnic representation in the Kosovo Police see: Donika Emini (2014). “Inclusion or Exclusion? Minorities In The Security Sector In Post-Independent Kosovo”. Kosovar Center for Security Studies. Available at: http://goo.gl/Ew1Obk

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid, p. 13.

[7] Available at: http://www.aksp-ks.net/?page=2,6

[8] Kosovo Police Annual Report 2014, p. 24. Available at: http://goo.gl/cUYSqb

[9] Ibid, pp. 22-25.

[10] Law No. 04/L-076 on Police, Article 32, pp. 17-18.

[11] Available at: http://kosovopolice.com/?page=2,14

[12] Available at: http://kosovopolice.com/?page=1,26,4458. There is no information regarding the number of Police Stations in the Regional Police Directorate of Gjakova.

[13] Ibid, Article 34, p. 19.

[14] Available at: http://kosovopolice.com/?page=2,19

[15] Law No. 04/L-076 on Police, Article 5, p. 4.

[16] Available at: http://mpb-ks.org/?page=2,19

[17] Available at: http://mpb-ks.org/?page=2,5

[18] For more details, see the following link: http://goo.gl/Ru01el

[19] Law No.03/L-231 on Police Inspectorate of Kosovo, Article 2, p. 1.

[20] Ibid, Article 3, p. 1.

[21] Ibid, Article 2, p. 1.

[22] Available at: http://www.mpb-ks.org/?page=2,35

[23] Available at: https://goo.gl/cUyaad

[24] Law No. 04/L-076 on Police, Article 33, p. 18.

[25] Skender Përteshi (2014). “Accountability or not? Managing the public funds in Kosovo Security Sector”. Prishtina: Kosovar Center for Security Studies, p. 20. Available at: http://goo.gl/MlBqvE

[26] Ibid, p. 21.

[27] Rules of Procedure of the Assembly of the Republic of Kosovo. Prishtina, 29 April 2010, pp. 51-52. Available at: http://goo.gl/hfEcm6

[28] Available at: http://www.ombudspersonkosovo.org/en/mission

[29] Law No. 03/L-195 on Ombudsperson, Article 16, p. 8.

[30] Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, Article 136, p. 52.

[31] Ibid, Article 137, p. 52.

[32] Available at: http://www.akk-ks.org/?cid=2,5

[33] Constitution of the Republic of Kosovo, Article 142, p. 54.

[34] Ibid.

[35] Law No. 03/L-159 on Anti-Corruption Agency, Article 5, p. 3.

[36] Law No. 04/L-050 on Declaration, Origin and Control of Property of Senior Public Officials and on Declaration, Origin and Control of Gifts of All Public Officials, Article 3, p. 2.

[37] Available at: http://www.amdp-rks.org/web/?page=2,43#.VSfp3_mUcmM

[38] Law No. 03/L-172 on the Protection of Personal Data, Article 38, p. 14.

[39] Available at: http://goo.gl/7QCzIJ

[40] Available at: http://krpp.rks-gov.net/Default.aspx?LID=2

[41] Available at: http://oshp.rks-gov.net/?cid=2,67

[42] Ibid, Article 11, pp. 6-7.

[43] Ibid, Article 26, p. 14.

[44] Ibid, Article 27, pp. 14-15.