The two main goals of the UNMIK police are
to provide temporary law enforcement, and to develop a professional
and impartial Kosovo Police Service, trained in democratic police
work. During the last phase of UNMIK Police mission, all police
duties should be handed over to local police ( KPS ) and international
officers will support and monitor their activity.
What is the strength of international police?
Haw many countries participate?
As of 02 July 2002 there were 4517 armed
international police in Kosovo. 49 countries have sent their officers
to serve with UNMIK police.
What are the requirements for becoming an officer?
Each country has different criteria for selecting
an officer for a United Nations mission. An officer must meet those
requirements. Once selected he must demonstrate a proficiency with
a handgun, pass a driving test, and complete an English language test
with a minimum proficiency level of 70 percent. These tests are administered
by the Induction Training Center Staff of UNMIK Police.
In addition to these tests, officers attend the in-country
training facility for one week and receive training
in many areas such as mine awareness, map reading, human rights, and
others.
What is the structure of the department?
The UNMIK police force is commanded by a
Police Commissioner. He exercises all operational, technical and disciplinary
authority over all police personnel. He reports to the Special
Representative of the Secretary General. The entire organization is
divided into three internal command chains:
-
Operations
-
Administration
-
Planning and Development
UNMIK Police Operations is made up of three sections:
The mission area is divided into five regions. The UNMIK Police headquarters
are in Pristina. There are also five regional headquarters in Pristina,
Pec, Gnjilane, Prizren and Mitrovica. The regional HQ supervise police
stations located in their area of responsibility. The Border Police are
stationed at border crossings and the airport.
Who pays the officer’s salary?
Officers receive an MSA (Mission Subsistence
Allowance) from the United Nations. This allowance is to defray the
cost of room and board and other personal items needed by the officer
during his stay in the mission area. The officer receives $95.00 a
day (US dollars) for the first month in the mission and $71.00 per
day each month after that. MSA is paid in equivalent Euros.
Salary would be paid by the home country of the officer and differs
widely from country to country.
How long do officers serve in Kosovo?
Officers may serve for a six, nine or twelve
month period. The UN condition to employ international police is that
all of them should come to the mission voluntarily. There are no obstacles
in case the officer decide to finish earlier because of serious reason
(ex. family problem).
The home country usually dictates the length
of their assignment.
What are the duties of Special
Police Units?
UNMIK Special Police Units carry out public
order functions, such as crowd control and area security. The special
police units also provide support for UNMIK civilian police and protect
UNMIK installations. As of 1 Jan 2002 there are seven SPUs consisting
of 1065 officers from India, Jordan, Argentina, Ukraine, Poland, Spain,
and Pakistan.
What kind of health problems do officers face?
Although living conditions have greatly improved
since the beginning of the mission in June of 1999, officers must
still be careful when it comes to their personal health. The largest
danger for officers, as well as the local population, continues to
be water borne contaminants. Because of the often spotty nature of
electrical power, water pressure fluctuates greatly, especially in
the larger towns. This results in water lying stagnant in the lines
or the lines being empty which allows for faster bacterial growth.
Most officer use bottled water for cooking and drinking and if local
water is used for these purposes, it must always be boiled before
it can be considered safe. The influx of internationals from so many
different climates and locales requires that their bodies should adjust
to their new environment. Within a few months, most officers have
fully acclimated to their new surroundings.
What type of work schedule do UNMIK Police officers
have?
Like police officers in many countries, UNMIK
Police officers are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Currently
in the Kosovo mission, officers work an 8-hour shift but are expected
to work longer shifts if their assignments require it. Officers normally
work consecutive days while accruing 1 compensatory day off for every
5 days worked in succession. They schedule their days of CTO (Compensatory
Time Off) leave based on the amount they have accrued. In addition
to this time off, officers accumulate 1.5 annual leave days per each
calendar month. Annual leave would then amount to 18 days over a yearlong
mission. Officers may combine CTO days and Leave days but can never
take more than 24 consecutive days leave at any one time. Both leave
and CTO time must be coordinated with the needs of the officer's unit.
The number of officers on leave at any given time should not exceed
25% of their total force in order to maintain sufficient manpower
for the unit.
Whose side are we on?
Police officers often find themselves caught in
the middle of individual conflicts as well as political ones. They
do not have the luxury of choosing sides. They cannot pick one ethnic/religious/political
group above the other. They cannot choose which individual they will
or will not protect. They have only one mission, to protect the rights
of all citizens regardless of their ethnic, religious, or political
background. Because of nature of their task, officers often find themselves
the focal point of anger and frustration.
This means that on any given day an officer will
be hailed as a savior or a villain depending on who the law happens
to benefit on that day. It is not the officers' duty to judge. It
is the sworn duty of every law enforcement officer to preserve human
life and uphold the truth. UNMIK Police officers face a unique challenge
every day in Kosovo; they work in an alien environment where they
are the outsiders to people who are divided by religion and ethnicity.
While the initial emphasis of the police in the
mission was to address the concentration of ethnically-motivated violence
following the war, police concerns have now shifted to organized crime,
intra-ethnic violence brought about by local customs, and acts of
political violence.
The local cultures have tolerated the use of violence
to settle disputes in the past. Now the International Police must
introduce a modern concept of justice, the rule of law.
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