Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg Thorsten Stodiek The OSCE and the Creation of Multi-Ethnic Police Forces in the Balkans Working Paper 14 Thorsten Stodiek The OSCE and the Creation of Multi-Ethnic Police Forces in the Balkans CORE Working Paper 14 Hamburg 2006 2 Contents Preface and Acknowledgements …………………………………………………………6 Chapter 1 Introduction: Challenges of Police Reform in Post-Socialist War-Torn Societies ………………….. …………………………………….7 1.1 Police Reform in Ethno-Political Post-Conflict Situations ……… ……………7 1.1.1 The Ethno-Political Dimension of Police Reform …… ………………………..7 1.1.2 Structural Deficiencies of Post-Socialist Police Forces ………………………..9 1.1.3 Resource Problems and the Question of Reform Ownership .. ………………...9 1.2 Objectives and Methodology of the Study …………………………………... 10 1.2.1 The Written Survey …………………………………………………………...10 1.2.2 Research Questions and Variables of Analysis ……………………………… 13 1.2.3 Problems in Evaluating the Results of Police Reform ………………..………13 1.3 Structural Deficiencies within the Police System: The Yugoslav Legacy …... 14 1.4 The Legacies of Ethno-Political Violent Conflict …………………………… 16 Chapter 2 Kosovo ………………………………………………………………………18 2.1 Mandate ……………………………………………………………………… 18 2.2 Building up the Kosovo Police Service ……………………………………… 18 2.2.1 Recruitment ……………………………………………...……………………19 2.2.2 Academy Training …………………….…………………………………….. 20 2.2.2.1 Evaluation of Training by KPS Cadets ……………………………………… 22 2.2.2.2 Assessment of Qualification of the Cadets ……………………………… 23 2.2.3 Field Training ……………………………………………………………….. 24 2.2.4 Efforts to Win the Trust of the Local Population …………………………… 25 2.2.5 Excursus: Reform of the Judicial and Penal System ………………………… 26 2.2.6 Police-Related Law Reform …………………………………………………. 28 2.3 Taking Stock of Reform Efforts …………………………………………….. 29 2.3.1 Establishment of the Multi-Ethnic Kosovo Police Service ………………….. 29 2.3.2 Performance of the KPS ……………………… ……………………………...30 2.3.2.1 Crime Developments ………. …………………………………………...........30 2.3.2.2 Demonstrated Skills and Level of Professionalism …………. ………………31 2.3.3 Social Inter-Ethnic Climate at the Police Academy and in the Units ………...34 2.3.3.1 Social Climate at the Academy ……………………………………………….34 2.3.3.2 Social Climate in the Multi-Ethnic Units ……………………. ………………35 2.3.4 Public Perception of KPS Performance ………………………………………37 2.3.5 Obstacles to the Build-up of a Democratic Multi-Ethnic Police Service….. …38 2.4 Conclusions .......………………………………………………………………41 3 Chapter 3 South Serbia ……………………………………………….………..…….. 43 3.1 Mandate ………………………………………………….. …………………..43 3.2 Building up the Multi-Ethnic Police Element ……………………………….. 44 3.2.1 Recruitment …………………………………………………………………...44 3.2.2 Academy Training ………………………………………………………….. ..44 3.2.2.1 Evaluation of the Training by Former MEPE Cadets ………………………...45 3.2.2.2 Assessment of Qualification of the Cadets …………………………………...45 3.2.3 Field Training ……… …………………………………………………..…….46 3.2.4 Efforts to Win the Trust of the Local Population …………………………….47 3.2.5 Excursus: Reform of the Judicial and Penal System ………………………....48 3.2.6 Police-Related Law Reform ……………………………………………….…49 3.3 Taking Stock of Reform Efforts ………………………………………..…….50 3.3.1 Establishment of Multi-Ethnic Police Units ……………………………….....50 3.3.2 Performance of the MEPE …………..………………………………………..51 3.3.2.1 Crime Development ……….………………………………………………….51 3.3.2.2 Demonstrated Skills and Level of Professionalism …….…………………….53 3.3.3 Social Inter-Ethnic Climate at the Police Academy and in the Units ... ………55 3.3.3.1 Social Climate at the Academy ………………………………………………55 3.3.3.2 Social Climate in the Multi-Ethnic Units ……….…………………………… 55 3.3.4 Public Perception of MEPE Performance …………………………………… 55 3.3.5 Obstacles to the Build-up of a Democratic Multi-Ethnic Police Service…….. 56 3.4 Conclusions ………………………………………………………………….. 59 Chapter 4 Macedonia …………………………………………………………………..61 4.1 Mandate ……………………….………………………………………………61 4.2 Building up the Multi-Ethnic Police …………………………………………. 62 4.2.1 Recruitment ………………………………………………………………….. 62 4.2.2 Academy Training …………………………………………………………… 63 4.2.2.1 Evaluation of Training by Cadets ……………………………………………. 63 4.2.2.2 Assessment of Qualification of the Cadets ………………………………….. 65 4.2.3 Field Training ………………………………………………………………... 65 4.2.4 Efforts to Win the Trust of the Local Population ……………………………. 67 4.2.5 Excursus: Reform of the Judicial and Penal System ………………………… 69 4.2.6 Police-Related Law Reform ………… ……………………………………….70 4.3 Taking Stock of Reform Efforts ………………………..……………………. 71 4.3.1 Establishment of Multi-Ethnic Police Units …………………………………. 71 4.3.2 Performance of the Multi-Ethnic Police ……………………………………... 72 4.3.2.1 Crime Development ………………………………………………………….. 72 4.3.2.2 Demonstrated Skills and Level of Professionalism ………………………….. 73 4.3.3 Social Inter-Ethnic Climate at the Academy and in the Units ………………. 75 4.3.3.1 Social Climate at the Academy …………………………………………….... 75 4.3.3.2 Social Climate in the Multi-Etnic Units …………………………………….. 76 4.3.4 Public Perception of the Performance of the Multi-Ethnic Police …………... 77 4.3.5 Obstacles to the Build-up of a Democratic Multi-Ethnic Police Service…..… 78 4.4 Conclusions ………………………………………………………….………. 81 4 Chapter 5 Summary of Findings, Conclusions, and Recommendations …….. 83 5.1 Findings of the Three Case Studies …………… ……………………………..83 5.2 Conclusions ………….………………………………………………………. 85 5.3 Recommendations …………………… ………………………………………86 Annexes Annex 1: List of Abbreviations ………………………………………………… ..……..88 Annex 2: Tables with Statistical Data ……..…………………………………………. ...90 Annex 3: References ………….. ………………………………………………………107 5 Preface and Acknowledgements The establishment of multi-ethnic democratic police services, which are capable of preventing human rights violations, protecting democratic institutions and resolutely fighting corruption, organized crime and terrorism, has become an integral part of peace-building missions of the UN, the OSCE and the EU. It has been widely understood that their effective functioning is a prerequisite for a sustainable peace process following civil wars. In 2005, thirteen out of 17 post-conflict peace-building missions worldwide included a police component, tasked with creating, reforming, training and/or monitoring domestic police forces. The record of international efforts in creating multi-ethnic police services in the Balkans is still rather limited and based only on a brief period of experience. Very little empirical research has been conducted on these issues so far. This study aims to narrow this research gap by comparing the international police activities of the OSCE, the UN and the EU in Kosovo, Southern Serbia (Presevo valley) and Macedonia. The project analyses whether, and to what extent, multi-ethnic police services can help to overcome the legacy of ethno-political conflicts; it also identifies the structural deficiencies of post-socialist security sectors, and studies the problems confronting international actors when they developed and implemented their training and reform concepts. Begun in January 2003, the project covers police reform developments in Kosovo, Southern Serbia and Macedonia from the start of each of the three missions until the summer of 2005. CORE gratefully acknowledges the financial support the German Foundation for Peace Research has provided for this project. The author is particularly grateful to the OSCE Strategic Police Matters Unit of the OSCE Secretariat, to the Serbian and Macedonian Minis- tries of the Interior and to the leaderships of the UN, the EU and the OSCE police components in the three mission areas, who supported the study so generously. Special thanks go to the nearly 700 international and domestic police officers in the three mission areas who participa- ted in the written survey. The author expresses his sincere gratitude to police inspector Tom Litges from the Institute for Applied Further Education of the North Rhine Westphalia Police in Germany, who provided decisive support for this project with his extensive police expertise and international experience. Many thanks go to the project assistants, Rajna Badeva, Dragan Paunovic and Georg Scheerer for their enthusiastic support, their ideas and insights, and to all CORE staff members involved in editing and proofreading this study. Hamburg, January 2006 Thorsten Stodiek 6 Chapter 1 Introduction: Challenges of Police Reform in Post-Socialist War-Torn Societies 1.1 Police Reform in Ethno-Political Post-Conflict Situations The police components of international post-conflict peace-building missions, which deal with peace consolidation after the resolution of violent intra-state conflicts,1 are of increasing importance. A prime feature of intra-state conflicts is the challenging of the states’ “internal sovereignty”2 by domestic actors (sometimes supported by external ones), who call into ques- tion the legitimacy of the state’s monopoly of force. If this monopoly is challenged and the state is no longer able to provide “security, law and a reasonable amount of order”3 for all citi- zens, intra-state security dilemmas arise.4 If citizens or groups believe that potential rivals will not be restrained by state authority, they will take security into their own hands by arming themselves, thus initiating an “intra-state arms race”. In order to re-establish the state’s legitimate monopoly of force, which, according to Senghaas, is “of paramount importance for any modern peace order”5 and to secure a sustain- able peace