The institutionalization and strengthening of integrity, remain a priority in the development of the Kosovo Police (KP). This security institution has so far drawn up two plans for the strengthening of integrity with the aim of strengthening the organizational culture against corruption and increasing the institutional capacities for the prevention of negative phenomena, which may compromise its integrity.

With the changes in the organizational structure within it, at the beginning of 2019, the Kosovo Police has created the Integrity Sector within the Professional Standards Division and based on the organizational structure, integrity officers have also been foreseen.

KP is currently in the third year of implementing the plan for strengthening integrity 2021-2025, which has been completed in 2022. The same model has been taken from countries that have not yet drafted such a plan.

Raising awareness of integrity and ethics in the police, strengthening internal control in the identification and elimination of irregularities at work, raising professionalism and integrity as well as professional development of personnel in specific fields and sectors, prevention of conflict of interest, evaluation of acts internal normative of the organization in terms of preventing corruption, conflict of interest and strengthening integrity, strengthening the principle of objectivity, impartiality and transparency are the five objectives of the plan for strengthening integrity 2021-2025.

In the Kosovo Police, they say that there are 37 activities that are included for each objective and each objective is dedicated to the units that have to implement them and that are related to the realization of that objective.

Colonel Izet Azizi, director of the Division for Professional Standards in the Kosovo Police, says that this plan aims to achieve the fulfillment of the vision, mission, values and guiding principles of the Kosovo Police to have a reliable, professional, responsible and accountable.

According to him, the integrity plan greatly strengthens the aspect of inspection, audit and direct supervision.

"So far, the Kosovo Police has drawn up two plans for strengthening the integrity plan. One plan is for the year 2018-2019, it was for two years. The one we are currently implementing is for the year 2021-2025. It means that we are in the third year of the implementation of the integrity plan... In 2018, the Kosovo Police planned a sector called the integrity sector... When we drafted this second plan, we made efforts to also follow the policies of other countries that implement this plan, but we had to deal with this issue during the pandemic, and we did not have many opportunities to deal with this issue, and we did not have many opportunities to get experiences of other countries", he says.

In the organizational culture of the plan for strengthening the integrity of the KP, the code of ethics and police integrity, the fight against corruption and the conflict of interest are foreseen. While the risks and the level of vulnerability of integrity in the Kosovo Police have also been identified.

According to this plan, the basic vulnerable areas in the Kosovo Police are: the field of investigations (organized crime, economic, corruption), public security (operations, road traffic, specialized units), integrated border control and management, support services (procurement, asset and stock management, budget management), as well as human resources (recruitment, selection, promotion).

In the framework of this plan, it is also stated that the Kosovo Police should work more on drafting and updating work procedures, to create the conditions for employees to be trained to perform work with high integrity, to undertake additional measures to strengthen internal control and accountability mechanisms, in order to supervise the applicability of duties by police officers.

However, Colonel Azizi says that they have received positive marks regarding the plan for strengthening integrity.

"We appreciate the fact that have received a good criticism from international friends, but also from international organizations, regarding the plan for strengthening integrity. We can freely tell you that DIKAF has informed us that our plan has been taken as a model in countries that have not yet drawn up the integrity plan, including Albania, were we shared our experience with them ... We had to take care that the flow of the process goes to the last office in the police, and for this reason the Integrity Sector has drawn up a guide on how to report for the realization of the plan for strengthening integrity, a guide that was it has helped a lot all those reporters to report more easily", he emphasizes.

Security expert Nuredin Ibishi also speaks about the importance of implementing this plan.

"(The integrity plan) is a precursor to the prevention of cases, either of corruption, of unethical behavior or other issues involving the involvement of police officers or the KSF in matters that are very sensitive for their functioning. With these, it makes the security sector much more responsible, much more accountable, but also the people regardless of the level at which they perform their duties in security institutions", he says.

Ibishi emphasizes that despite the setbacks in the past, there is progress in the work of the Kosovo Police.

"Although there have been many delays in the implementation of the integrity plan, especially on the part of the Department for Verification and Integrity, because it has not functioned properly, now with the approval of these standards there is progress in the work of the inspectorates and the police, the cases of simulation, which gave results against corruption, in traffic and at the border. Actually, it has given very good results", says Ibishi.

The former director of the Kosovo Police, at the same time an MP in the Assembly of Kosovo, Rashit Qalaj, recommends the police to focus on completing the secondary legislation for the realization of this plan.

"Integrity is an important issue that must be addressed in the Kosovo Police, and I believe that even through this article that we are talking about, it would be a good message for the Kosovo Police to focus on completing the secondary legislation for the implementation of the integrity plan in the Kosovo Police", says Qalaj.

Qalaj, also a member of the parliamentary Committee for Security, says that Norway is one of the countries that can serve as a model in terms of the implementation of the integrity plan.

"There are many countries that are able to help the Kosovo Police in this field. I mentioned ICITAP, which is the main partner of the Kosovo Police and the EU, and individual countries... the state of Norway, which has really helped the Kosovo Police in many projects, and I believe that in the area of integrity it would have made a valuable contribution, so that we have a Police force that offers much better services and a very strong Police in terms of integrity. I believe that this would also be a great stimulus for the citizens to increase the credibility of the Kosovo Police, and we as a people need to have the best possible police force", he says.

The Police say that the plan has already produced results.

Colonel Azizi says that they intend to transform the plan for strengthening the integrity of the police into an organizational culture.

"Each activity has a measuring parameter, and they are not only numbers, but also explanations of how the activities were carried out... I believe that we have achieved success in informing the public about all police activities. It is something that has been noticed publicly. Then we are dealing with specific internal issues, such as training... 11:45 Maybe after a long time, maybe there will be no need to have plans for strengthening integrity, like many other countries that do not have them, they had it earlier, but it has passed into the organizational culture, and people get used to it and perform their tasks and duties according to the integrity plan", says Azizi.

The plan for strengthening integrity in the Kosovo Police presents the possibility for this institution to develop and implement a comprehensive institutional approach for improving the performance of employees, reducing acts of corruption and promoting citizens' trust in the police institution.

Notice: This feature was produced by the NGO “Center for Innovation and Development” with the financial support of EULEX Kosovo. Its content does not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of EULEX Kosovo