UNMIK-UNMIK Police-KFOR- Press Briefing, 28 January 2002

UNMIK Spokesman Susan Manuel
UNMIK Police Commissioner Christopher Albiston
KFOR Spokesman Squadron Leader Daz Slaven
UNMIK Police Spokesman Derek Chappell

Briefings by the Police Commissioner upon his departure from UNMIK

I want to take this opportunity to say goodbye to the press and through the press to say goodbye to the people of Kosovo, and just to mention a few developments which have taken place, not during the last year, because I do not wish to personalize developments in the policing, they have nothing to do me, they have to do with the hard work of 8500 thousands international and Kosovo police officers. But rather do discuss how policing has progressed in the last 2,5 years. And to suggest some developments you may see during the later part of this year.

There are two main elements of the policing mandate: one is to deliver policing services throughout Kosovo and the other is to develop a local, Kosovar, police service whish is effective, credible and impartial. I believe that we have made significant progress on both parts of the mandate but there is still significant work to do. On the first part of the mandate, the international police, and increasingly now, the local Kosovar police, are delivering policing to every part of Kosovo all the cities, towns and villages now have access to policing services. They are all patrolled by the police, people can call on their local polices to respond to incidents whether it is murders, rapes, armed robberies, or burglaries, thefts, domestic incidents and so on.

That may sound very straightforward but it is actually quite a complicated job to develop from a basis of nothing i.e. modern policing service for a society which clearly needs the services of the police and deserves the services of effective police. Where I think we have so far not made significant impact ion that part of the mandate is in addressing the issue of organized crime. We seem to be better at capturing the minor gangsters and criminals then we are at catching the major gangsters and criminals. That is not unusual in modern societies, it is a problem that we share with many other places that have long-established police and judicial systems.

But I think you can expect to see visible progress during the next year, because we have been working hard below the surface during the last year to set in place the mechanisms which are necessary for dealing with the people who are intimidating the people of Kosovo, who are making sure they get the share of the wealth in Kosovo to which they are not entitled, who are acting as leaches on society. Well now the international police and KPS have prepared themselves to deal with these people and I think that you will see progress during the year.

On the second part of the mandate, developing an effective, credible and impartial local police service I commend here the Kosovo Police Service as a fine institution, as a fine example of what the people of Kosovo from all different backgrounds can achieve when working together.

There is a lot of work to be done but we now have KPS officers in every part of Kosovo, except for Northern Mitrovica and I invite the people who live in Northern Mitrovica to think seriously about their contribution to their own community, and how that can best be achieved. And I would say to them that if they want effective policing, in the part where they are living they must participate and join in.

You will see that in KPS we have sergeants exercising executive authority, we have a colonel, several lieutenant colonels and two majors with specific functions. We have KPS officers investigating the majority of reported crime in all stations in Kosovo. They have been specially trained in criminal investigation. We have KPS officers specially trained in traffic duties. We are going to appoint in the course of this year lieutenants and captains and later in the year we hope to run a trial police stations based entirely on the KPS structures. Restricting the internationals to an advisory and monitoring role and let us see how well the KPS will have developed then in little over three years.

The KPS will only be successful with the support of the people of Kosovo. The press must examine critically the performance of the police, whether they are international or local, but the press too can through its attitude help to support the local police. I believe they deserve your support, they certainly deserve the support of people of Kosovo. They need that support to succeed and in my view, if the KPS does not succeed, Kosovo does not succeed. If the KSP is a successful institution as I believe it is, then it gives an opportunity for Kosovo to be a successful place.

That is all I have to say, I am content to stay for short wile to take few questions but there are other matters to which I have to attend in a few minutes. Thank you.

Q: You said that there will be visible progress this year because of the work you have done bellow the surface, and you mentioned mechanisms. What mechanism are you talking about in fighting organized crime?

CA: You will sometimes find people who will tell you that everybody knows who is involved in what crime. And sometimes the people in the street are right, and sometimes they are not. So as police, the first thing that we had to do was insure that our intelligence was accurate, up to date, and that it was known to these people who have to know it, and that it was kept secret from those people who do not have to know it. We needed to analyze the intelligence picture, in order to have a clearer view of the way these gangs operate, who they are, who their associates are, which premises, which vehicles they use, and so on. Significant work has been done on that. They also need a team of specially trained, dedicated police officers, to use that intelligence as basis for gathering evidence which can be placed before a judge. That team has been formed it will expand during the course of the year, it is already conducting investigations against certain individuals, and shortly the SRSG will use his executive authority to introduce new regulations giving power to the police to do some of the things which police do in other countries, which have an organized crime problem.

Q: Can you please be more specific when you say progress. What does that mean, will we see some of these criminals being arrested based on the job that you have done?

CA: If none of the criminals get arrested I would be very disappointed. There are two ways of tackling organized crime - the ideal way is if we can get the evidence to present to a court to have people convicted in open court, on open evidence, before a judge and sentenced to imprisonment. There is an alternative where clear intelligence indicates a form of criminal activity and it seems unlikely that we will ever get the evidence necessary to prove it, but there areas steps that police can take then to disrupt the activity of the criminals, to make their activity less profitable. And that is a very poor second best. What we aim for is the arrest of people who are in engaged in the organized crime.

Q: When will that be?

CA: I won't be here but I suggest the answer is that, yes, you will see the arrests. You may not see arrests tomorrow or the next day, but during the course of this year you will see some of the top criminals being arrested. It will then be a matter for the judges to decide whether the quality of the evidence is sufficient to warrant conviction and imprisonment. That is not the matter for the police, it the matter for judicial system.

Q: You mentioned that you were not successful in catching the big gangs and gangsters. Can you tell us what were the obstacles?

CA: Yes, basically the obstacles fall into two categories. The first is that that the mechanisms for dealing with organized crime in modern policing are fairly sophisticated and those mechanisms simply did not exist in Kosovo. That defect has been remedied during the last years, which is why I say we are now in a position to move against some of these people. The second obstacle is of course fear, intimidation, and perhaps lack of confidence in police and judicial system. Now, I believe that the question of confidence has been largely addressed. For start, a number of people are talking to us, about organized crime. We don't rush out and arrest people straight away, we listen to what witnesses tell us. We research it, we take steps to make sure that those witnesses are confident in a judicial system. But I think there is a broader confidence question. If you look at the reported serious crime in Kosovo throughout the year 2201, you will see that after the boom of reported crime towards the end of the year 2000, reported serious crime throughout the year 2001 stayed fairly steady at roundabout 500 offences per week. Some weeks are little more, some weeks are little less. But within these reported serious crimes, there is a noticeable change in the nature of the crimes that are being reported. A number of murders dropped hugely. Within the murders that have been reported the number that you would associate with a post-conflict society, inter-ethnic division and so on, dropped more dramatically still. More the murders were murders committed in the course of crime, domestic murders, local rivalry. More people are prepared to report burglaries, thefts, and domestic incidents. Now I believe the way that the crime figures are changing indicates firstly that Kosovo society is changing, away from the sort of society you may find in the post-conflict situation and towards a sort of modern society where domestic violence and greed produce a ot of work for the police and the fact that people are prepared to report crimes, even minor crimes to police, the fact that women are prepared to report some of the disgraceful assaults that take place against them, sometimes in the street, sometimes even in the family home, to me that is an indication of the increasing confidence of the people of Kosovo in the institutions of justice in particular in the police, both the internationals and the KPS. And I think that is a good sign.

Q: We have the information that Special Forces of UNMIK Police have surrounded/searched building where the intelligence service of Albania was located. Can you tell us a bit more about it. Was it directed against them because they were involved in major crime?

CA: I've maid it my practice never to comment on current police operations and not to discuss the names of people who are suspected of any offence. So I will stick to that. If your information is accurate, then in due course a judicial procedure will either start or not start, and that will be the right time to make comment on that.

Q: Do you think that arrests you said would take place later in the year would have impact on the political scene in Kosovo?

CA: I think that is the kind of question that needs very careful answer. I think the arrests may have an impact in this sense that it will give an opportunity to the political leaders of Kosovo to demonstrate their support for the rule of law, criminal justice system, for their own police and for the future of Kosovo.

UNMIK Police Spokesman Derek Chappell

1. KPS OFFICERS RESCUE FIVE FROM FIRE

Five people escaped from a fire on Friday night due to the bravery of Kosovo Police Service officers.

At 3:00 in the morning of January 25th, a team of KPS officers on patrol in a village near Mitrovica saw a business on fire. The building was locked, so the officers forced their way in and found the shop owner asleep. They evacuated him and then continued to search the building. An additional four people were found and safely evacuated.

The officers then fought the fire, saving both the business and the building by extinguishing it.

This action is an example of what people should expect from their police, to "protect and serve" the public. People should also remember this and the many similar actions the next time they are getting a traffic ticket from a police officer.

ARRESTS FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT

Last week in Prizren Region, a K-Albanian father reported to UNMIK Police that his 7 year-old daughter was raped on her way home from school. Police identified a suspect and arrested an 18 year-old K-Albanian male who is being held in custody.

We urge all parents to properly monitor their children and not let them wander about without supervision, as we see happening all to often.

Two weeks ago in Mitrovica Region, the rape of a 94 year-old K-Serbian woman was reported to UNMIK Police. Police identified a suspect and arrested a K-Serbian male the next day.

Further details of these crimes will not be given in order to protect the identities of the victims and their families. However, both incidents reflect the increasing confidence that people in Kosovo have in the civil authorities.

3. ARRESTS FOR ATTEMPTED MURDER

Last year, we reported the November 27th shooting of a K-Albanian man in the village of Rudnik.

Police investigated and identified two K-Albanian male suspects. On January 25 th of this year, both suspects were located and arrested.

While this is not an exceptional case, it illustrates the fact that criminal investigations take time and patience. I am often asked within hours of a crime why no one has been arrested, and I can only reply that the case is under investigation. Examples such as this show "Investigation Continuing" is not a meaningless phrase.

4. COUNTERFEIT GERMAN MARKS

Last week, we warned of counterfeit DM notes that are being put into circulation as the deadline for Euro conversion approaches. DM will no longer be legal tender after February 28th.

Over the past few days, three more cases have been reported, and shopkeepers in Gnjilane and Prizren have been deceived by 500 DM notes.

We again caution the public to examine carefully any large-denomination DM notes they encounter.

MAJOR CRIME DECLINED IN 2001

UNMIK Police recorded the following crime statistics for Kosovo during 2001, and the statistics for the year 2000 are included for comparison.

The statistics clearly indicate that crime in Kosovo is stabilizing as UNMIK Police and the Kosovo Police Service are able to devote more resources to the investigation of ordinary crime. The statistics also demonstrate that the security situation in Kosovo is improving. Additionally, the apparent increases in Rape/Att. Rape and Grev. Assault are believed to represent a greater willingness on the part of the victims to report such crimes to the police. This increased willingness to report such crimes is the result of increasing confidence in the civil authorities for Kosovo.

Major Offenses 2000/2001 %

Murder 245 136 - 44
Att. Murder 275 225 - 18
Kidnapping 190 165 - 15
Att. Kidnapping 108 91 - 15
Rape/Att. Rape 115 133 + 16
Grev. Assault 226 288 + 21
Arson 523 218 - 58
Looting 22 6 - 72
Total 1704 1255 - 26

Murder victims by ethnicity: 92 Albanians, 30 Serbians, 14 Other ethnicities.
Murder arrests by ethnicity: 125 Albanians, 4 Serbians, 5 Other ethnicities.
(11 of the 30 Serbian murder victims died in the 16/02/01 "Nis Express" bus attack)

Fatal traffic accidents also decreased, from 250+ persons killed in 2000 to 159 in 2001. UNMIK Police and KPS officers issued 215,095 traffic tickets during 2001. The increased traffic enforcement is believed responsible for the decrease in fatalities.

Derek CHAPPELL Barry FLETCHER
Chief of Press and Public Information Office of Press and Public Information
UNMIK Police HQ, Pristina UNMIK Police HQ, Pristina
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KFOR Spokesman Squadron Leader Daz Slaven

Susan Manuel: I now want to turn the floor over to Sandra Hudd and Alexy Sluchynsky from the Transitional Administrative Department of Labor and Social Welfare and the CFA, who will talk about pensions.

Sandra Hudd
The new regulation on pensions in Kosovo was proclaimed on the 22nd of December. We will introduce a modern, European pension system in Kosovo. It has three major components

A universal pension for the elderly in Kosovo is the first part. All those over 65 will have an automatic pension. This will be administered by a section of social welfare. The two other components look to the current working age and how they will plan for their old age. The second part introduces a new mandatory pension system for today's workers and it also provides the legal basis for the operation of a voluntary pension scheme. My colleague from CFA will explain it because they are setting up the system.

Firstly, the basic flat rate for elderly will be introduced this year. It is fairly simple and what it says is that a system will be introduced where all Kosovars over 65 will get a flat rate pension from our department and this will be funded out of the Kosovo budget for 2002 and thereafter. This means it must be affordable and sustainable. We estimate there are 132,000 Kosovars over 65. This is based on OSCE figures. We are currently putting together the administration to deliver these pensions to all who apply. There is quite a lot of work to do to set this up. We have been preparing for the last four months and hope to begin paying towards the middle of the year. But it is the assembly who will make the decision of when the pension will start paying and how much. We can't begin paying until the assembly has considered these two issues. Now I will let my colleague talk about the other two larger components of the regulation.

Alexy Sluchynsky
The second element of the new pension system is that of the individual pension savings account. The difference with the transfer system of the past is that rather than immediately being spent, the money will be saved in accounts and reinvested. It is also transparent and the participant can trace their savings. It will be financed by mandatory contributions of the employer and the employee. The accounts of all employees will be pooled and invested together in low risk accounts.
Workers will get semi annual statements from the trust and will be able to monitor it. An asset management company and a custodian will be selected to manage the accounts in a competitive bidding process.
Investments must meet the criteria of safety, transparency and diversification. Most will be invested in international accounts and eventually in domestic, although this will be slower in coming.
Employers will contribute monthly and report quarterly. SOEs and large employers of over 500 will start contributing this year. All others will join the system next year.
The tax administration will report and process. We will develop simple mechanisms that will be cost efficient. Registration and cost accounting systems will be developed. New staff will be trained and a new system put in place. It is a massive undertaking and will probably be terminated by May of this year.
The new system will give workers the chance to save for their future, it will promote efficiency of the Kosovo labor market and will not impede development of businesses. Also, the new pension system will eventually make a major contribution to the development of Kosovo's economy.
Volunteer pension programs are an option with business and will be financed with voluntary contributions. Employers and businesses and a new department in BPK will monitor and license these voluntary schemes. All schemes must comply with the regulations of 2002.

Q: How much money will be given for the flat rate pension?

SH: That will be determined by the Assembly based on the amount available in the Kosovo Consolidated Budget. It will probably be between 20 and 25 euros. It's not going to be a large amount of money, but what it does is it helps people who receive it in some way, but more importantly it's the beginning of an ongoing pension system. As the economy grows over the years the budget and the pension amount can increase. So it's the start of a new system.

COMKFOR Hosts Mr Deci At Film City

COMKFOR, Lt General Marcel Valentine welcomed the President of the Kosovo Assembly, Mr Nexhat Daci, this morning at Film City. COMKFOR briefed Mr Daci on KFOR's mission during a meeting in which they discussed the general security situation in Kosovo. Mr Daci had the opportunity to meet the other generals belonging to KFOR command group and was given an assessment of KFOR's current concerns.

" I think that it is import for the key players in Kosovo to discuss some matters in an informal manner. I fully support Mr Daci in the vital role he is playing as the President of one of the democratic institutions in Kosovo." said Lt General Valentin.

At the end of his visit, Mr Daci thanked COMKFOR for the outstanding dedication of the men and women of KFOR to Kosovo.