Oliver Janser describes how the international community concentrated heavily on building a police service in Kosovo and on training police at the Vushtrri training facility. He gives a detailed description of the training curriculum, including the conflicts between U.S. and European Union norms. In addition to the complex political situation, he cites problems involving the public’s lack of trust in the police force, with the recruitment/appointment process of Kosovo Police Service officers, and with the lack of an initial exit strategy. He expresses concerns about the transition between the United Nations Interim Administration Mission and the EU's Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo, and explains some of the differences between the international organizations present there.
Case Study: Building the Police Service in a Security Vacuum: International Efforts in Kosovo, 1999-2011
Full Interview
At the time of this interview, Oliver Janser was the acting deputy director of public safety at the Kosovo mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, a post that he had held since January 2008. He previously served for 17 years in the German Federal Police as a counselor. His first mission as a U.N. Police officer was in Kosovo in 2001-02, where he started in the airport and later became the chief of the bicycle unit. He earned a master’s degree in risk/disaster management and peacekeeping, and joined the OSCE in Kosovo in 2002, where he started as an instructor for the tactical unit at the Kosovo Police Service training school, teaching defense tactics.