KPS CADETS START NEW FIELD TRAINING PROGRAM

The third anniversary of the Kosovo Police Service marks an important milestone in the establishment of unified policing for the entire community of Kosovo.

Starting Monday, September 23, newly recruited cadets to the Kosovo Police Service will be deployed to Police Stations throughout Kosovo to gain real police experience as part of their 15 week basic training course at the Kosovo Police Academy in Vucitrn. This and all future cadet classes will attend one week of field training after each three weeks of classroom training until graduation from the Academy. The objective is to give the cadets exposure to the realities of policing during the course of their training so that classroom lessons can be better understood.

Eighty (80) cadets from Cadet Class 21 will be the first to benefit from this new program. They will be working in all regions of Kosovo and with the Border Police, under the supervision of qualified UNMIK Police Field Training Officers.

Cadets in training will be recognisable by their distinctive brown uniforms, the normal dress for new recruits who are not yet fully qualified as police officers. Upon graduation, all will wear the familiar blue KPS uniform.

In most instances, the cadets will perform their field training in the areas where they live. For example, those cadets assigned to Mitrovica will be Serbian and will patrol throughout the region, including in the city of North Mitrovica.

The extension of normal policing by Kosovo Police officers to the residents of North Mitrovica reflects a community acceptance of the need for fair, equal and professional law enforcement regardless of ethnic diversity.

Derek CHAPPELL
Chief of Press & Public Information

Barry FLETCHER
Deputy Chief of Press & Public Information
UNMIK Police Main HQ
Pristina
Tel. +381-38-504-604-5071/FAX 5073