Kosovo police need popular support, says OSCE
(Lubomir Kotek/OSCE)On 14 April 2001, 251 cadets graduated from the Kosovo Police
Service School. (Lubomir Kotek/OSCE) Photo details
PRISTINA, 16 December 2002 - The OSCE's Senior Police Adviser, Richard Monk, has told Kosovo's new team of police officers that they can do a proper job only with the support of the people of Kosovo and that this will require the highest standards of personal integrity.
"To gain that support means that people must trust and respect you, even if, because you are a police officer, they don't like you," Monk said in a speech at the Kosovo Police Service School (KPSS) graduation ceremony for Classes 21 and 22.
Monk, who has 40 years of police experience in Britain and abroad, told the new police officers that crime was the biggest problem facing the world today. "It conditions how we think, how we behave, what we pay to live," he said.
"The police of most countries are overwhelmed by the scale of wrong-doing," Monk added. "Criminals steal the opportunities for people to thrive. Organized criminals have been known to steal the state. In a short while, the only people in Kosovo who will tackle these dreadful problems will be you. For that, you need to be properly trained and equipped. But you will also need the support of the people you represent and serve."
"On behalf of the Secretary General of the OSCE, I congratulate you on achieving this moment. I also personally congratulate you on choosing the profession of policing as a career."
The OSCE is presently undertaking police capacity and institution building in the countries of Central Asia and in the Caucasus. In Serbia, the OSCE has been put in charge of co-ordinating international assistance to policing.
"The fact that the OSCE is able to do this is very much a result of the progress and prestige achieved by the KPSS," Monk told the graduates. "I therefore pay a warm tribute to the Head of the School, Steve Bennett, and his staff for achieving such high international respect."
"I also acknowledge the part you are each going to play in ensuring that the reputation of the KPSS remains high. That requires you to be scrupulously honest, both in your private life as much as your public affairs and to uphold the rule of law without fear or favour. In other words, to uphold the rights of the individual - not the state - and to do so impartially."
Classes 21 & 22 consisted of 334 cadets of whom 54 represented Serb Community and 12 other smaller communities of Kosovo, whereas 72 were women. The graduation last Saturday in Vushtrri/Vucitrn brought the total number of trainee police officers to 5,535 who have successfully graduated from the school's basic training course since it opened in September 1999.
"To gain that support means that people must trust and respect you, even if, because you are a police officer, they don't like you," Monk said in a speech at the Kosovo Police Service School (KPSS) graduation ceremony for Classes 21 and 22.
Monk, who has 40 years of police experience in Britain and abroad, told the new police officers that crime was the biggest problem facing the world today. "It conditions how we think, how we behave, what we pay to live," he said.
"The police of most countries are overwhelmed by the scale of wrong-doing," Monk added. "Criminals steal the opportunities for people to thrive. Organized criminals have been known to steal the state. In a short while, the only people in Kosovo who will tackle these dreadful problems will be you. For that, you need to be properly trained and equipped. But you will also need the support of the people you represent and serve."
"On behalf of the Secretary General of the OSCE, I congratulate you on achieving this moment. I also personally congratulate you on choosing the profession of policing as a career."
The OSCE is presently undertaking police capacity and institution building in the countries of Central Asia and in the Caucasus. In Serbia, the OSCE has been put in charge of co-ordinating international assistance to policing.
"The fact that the OSCE is able to do this is very much a result of the progress and prestige achieved by the KPSS," Monk told the graduates. "I therefore pay a warm tribute to the Head of the School, Steve Bennett, and his staff for achieving such high international respect."
"I also acknowledge the part you are each going to play in ensuring that the reputation of the KPSS remains high. That requires you to be scrupulously honest, both in your private life as much as your public affairs and to uphold the rule of law without fear or favour. In other words, to uphold the rights of the individual - not the state - and to do so impartially."
Classes 21 & 22 consisted of 334 cadets of whom 54 represented Serb Community and 12 other smaller communities of Kosovo, whereas 72 were women. The graduation last Saturday in Vushtrri/Vucitrn brought the total number of trainee police officers to 5,535 who have successfully graduated from the school's basic training course since it opened in September 1999.