OSCE Mission in Kosovo and Kosovo Academy for Public Safety

In line with one of its main tasks in 1999, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo (Mission) was mandated with training the new police service to uphold human rights and democratic policing principles. To do so, the Mission established the Kosovo Police Service School (KPSS) and took the lead in recruiting and training the officers of the newly created Kosovo Police Service (KPS), now Kosovo Police (KP). In 2006, the Kosovo Police Service School evolved into the Kosovo Centre for Public Safety Education and Development (KCPSED), and in 2011 into the Kosovo Academy for Public Safety (KAPS), whereby it became a centre for training of all public safety agencies operating in Kosovo: KP, Kosovo Correctional Service (KCS), Kosovo Probation Service (KPS), Customs, Emergency Management Agency (EMA) and Police Inspectorate of Kosovo (PIK). Today, KAPS is an accredited institution responsible for delivering basic, specialized, advanced and accredited bachelor programmes in security and public safety for all named institutions. This booklet presents the Mission’s contribution in the establishment, development through different phases, and the main achievements of the Academy. Findings from annual reports, assessments and internal reports, produced by local and international institutions/organizations, alongside open sources and institutional memory, were used during the development of this booklet.