Police expert visits Kosovo

A University of Wolverhampton professor has visited the former war-torn country of Kosovo to assess police training in the region.

Professor Peter Waddington, Director of the History and Governance Research Institute, has just returned from the mission on behalf of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).

He was asked to lead a group of experts assessing the provision of training at the Centre for Public Safety Education and Development (KCPSED) in Pristina. This well-equipped centre was recently built with funding from the international community in the aftermath of the civil war in 1999. Its initial purpose was to urgently provide training for the police, because policing arrangements had almost entirely collapsed in the area.

Kosovo now possesses a police force of over 7,000 officers and OSCE is reviewing how training should develop for the longer term. Professor Waddington, a policing expert, said, "It is difficult to imagine that a country that is now so pleasant and safe, and whose population is so welcoming, was so recently the war-torn site of 'ethnic cleansing'. "There is still much to be done, but I'm hopeful that with the support of the international community, Kosovo will continue to develop to full democratic nationhood.

It was a privilege to be given the opportunity to play some small role in that process." KCPSED now provides an integrated training curriculum for the police, customs, corrections and the fire and paramedic services.

The group of experts toured the premises, interviewed individual members of staff and held more formal meetings with the Acting Director, Heads of the four services, instructors, and former students. Their report is due to be completed and delivered to OSCE within the next few months. The group led by Professor Waddington included international policing experts from Scotland, Germany and Kosovo.