Comparative case study of police reform missions by the OSCE, the UN, and the WEU

In the framework of the OSCE’s post-conflict rehabilitation activities, the police component is of increasing importance. The aim of this study was to analyse the OSCE police missions in Kosovo, Southern Serbia (Presevo Valley) and Macedonia, to inquire whether and to what extent multi-ethnic police services can help to overcome the legacy of ethno-political conflicts, and to study the problems confronting the OSCE, UN and EU when they developed and implemented their training concepts.

The three central research questions were: To what extent could multi-ethnic police forces be established in the post-war societies of the Western Balkans? To what degree have the populations gained confidence in them? Which factors explain the success or failure in establishing multi-ethnic police services?

The findings of the study are primarily based on interviews with and surveys of about 1,100 local police officers and their OSCE, UN and EU police instructors and monitors in Kosovo, Southern Serbia and Macedonia. The results of the study are mixed. One clear success consists in the fact that all three missions were able to recruit and train as many officers as planned. Furthermore, a general climate of professionalism and comradeship has developed within the multi-ethnic police units. Moreover, in all three cases the ethnic Albanian population has gained confidence in the new police forces.

However, a number of negative aspects must also be mentioned. In contrast to the ethnic Albanian population, ethnic Serbs and Macedonians view the multi-ethnic units with much scepticism. In addition, there are considerable problems with integrating the multi-ethnic units into the regular Serbian and Macedonian police forces, in particular into the special police forces that fight organized crime and terrorism. The prime reason for this poor integration is the insufficient training of the new police officers. The low educational level of many ethnic Albanian police applicants poses a significant obstacle to their further education.

The fact that unsuitable police applicants were nevertheless recruited is due to the political pressure by all ethnic communities. In addition, international actors in Kosovo had severe problems in gaining reliable information about the applicants, because relevant documents had vanished during the war. Other reasons for the often unprofessional performance of new police officers were rooted in the over-centralized command structures of the Serbian and Macedonian post-socialist police forces that also give way to political interference into the police service. A related problem is the very low salaries of police officers that provide fertile ground for corruption. Finally, effective police work was hampered in all three cases by the severe deficits within the judiciary.

The project came to the conclusion that states and international organizations should be prepared to provide a sufficient level of resources over a longer period to secure the sustainability of police reform. In addition, they should exert more political pressure on the political actors of the host countries to combat the structural deficits in the police services and the judiciary. Moreover, additional efforts are needed to achieve better integration of minority officers in all branches of the police services, and to further promote the acceptance of the multi-ethnic police units within the ethnic Serbian and Macedonian communities.

The project was funded by the German Foundation for Peace Research and implemented by Dr Thorsten Stodiek, supported by a police advisor and two local researchers. It started in January 2003 and was finished in March 2005.