Chirashree Das Gupta of the Asian Development Research Institute addresses a range of governance issues on the reform agenda of the Nitish Kumar government that came to power in India's Bihar state in 2005.  In particular, she talks about the administrative reforms that were necessary after years of curtailed expenditures and reduced functioning of basic governance.  She details the importance of coalition-building and incentive-based ownership of programs by the bureaucracy, while recognizing the issue of brokerage that exists in areas of deprivation with a limited number of positions available.  She highlights the recruitment of 100,000 teachers as both a success and a failure.  She also shares thoughts on integration of different segments of society in a place where the caste system so clearly divides political support.

Case Studies:  Coalition Building in a Divided Society: Bihar State, India, 2005-2009 and Reviving the Administration, Bihar State, India, 2005-2009

John Nikita, a 33-year veteran of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, shares his experiences in three different United Nations peacekeeping operations: Haiti, Kosovo and Afghanistan.  Nikita discusses the challenges of recruitment and vetting, particularly in countries that are under the administration of the United Nations and have ceased to have a functioning military.  His experiences with donor relations, between individual donor states and the U.N., offers insight into the coordination of efforts required for police reform.  He reflects on the predeployment training policies of the Canadian government, as compared with the U.N.'s Department of Peacekeeping Operations, and on the changing nature of the "traditional" peacekeeping operation.  Nikita stresses the importance of the preparedness, cultural sensitivity and suitability of the U.N. and donor state police advisors on the ground in addition to the quality of the recruits for the national police. 

Case study: Building the Police Service in a Security Vacuum: International Efforts in Kosovo, 1999-2011

Retired British police officer Keith Biddle recounts lessons learned from working on police reform programs in diverse contexts, including in Sierra Leone, where he headed the police force from 1999 to 2004, and in Somalia, South Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Biddle discusses the challenges of effective information gathering in police force vetting and recruitment. He emphasizes that recruitment is a community- and school-based process that should not be rushed. He goes on to discuss his experience in Sierra Leone in determining whether to recruit rebels into the police force and describes the types of challenges countries have faced in building more professional and meritocratic police forces. Next, Biddle discusses the importance of effective organizational structures to lead the police and cautions that efforts to recruit new talent may be futile to the extent that new officers enter a corrupt structure with the “wrong ethos.” Training programs, he states, should be developed in-house, with regard to context and existing skills, knowledge, and staff capacity, and include topics such as human rights, anti-corruption, and enforcement standards. Effectively combating corruption, Biddle posits, requires making the police vocation “valuable” in terms of reputation and fringe benefits. Ultimately, Biddle notes, police reform is “part of good governance” and must receive support from the highest levels of government. While police reform may be costly, he concludes, post-conflict countries cannot be expected to more forward without sustainable and effective police forces.    

Case Study:  Building Strategic Capacity in the Police: Sierra Leone, 1998-2008

Tobias Flessenkemper discusses the European Union Police Mission’s strategies and priorities in Bosnia-Herzegovina. He argues the command structure in the Bosnia police, which included a minister of the interior in each canton assuming administrative and executive roles that typically fall to police commissioners, overly politicized the Bosnia police in the levels of upper management. He considers politicization a major obstacle to police reform that was manifested differently in Bosnia’s two entities. Whereas in the cantons in the Federation of Bosnia-Herzegovina, encroachment by ministers of the interior on the traditional roles of police commissioners created one type of politicization, in the Republika Srpska, police were hesitant to investigate cases involving politicians or wealthy individuals. Still, he points out that the police were one of the most trusted institutions in Bosnia, which he credits to their visibility and roots in the communities in which they served. Finally, he posits that the effectiveness of the police was subverted somewhat by Bosnia’s weak judicial system and lack of prisons.     

Julie Fleming describes how the International Crime Investigative Training Assistance Program started a pilot community policing program with five U.S. officers working in four municipalities in Kosovo. She gives details about the process of recruitment of community committees and the 12-week training program in Vushtrri; the project brought together young people from different ethnic backgrounds. At the time of the interview, it was present in 20 municipalities. A study showed long-term improvement in terms of freedom of movement, inter-ethnic relations, police-community relations, and other aspects. In her opinion, the main success of the project was that it was community-driven, although it suffered setbacks due to the political events of 2008. She also discusses her views on the successes and failures of community policing in Kosovo.

Case Study: Building the Police Service in a Security Vacuum: International Efforts in Kosovo, 1999-2011

Faton Hamiti describes how the police station in Kosovo where he worked as a language assistant moved from being predominantly staffed by U.N. Police officers to having mostly Kosovo Police Service officers. He explains that the first members of UNPOL to arrive in 1999 were well accepted, but they later encountered difficulties due to political issues, lack of cooperation from the population and differences in police techniques among the international officers that were training the KPS. He explains in detail the complex process of transferring power and responsibility from the UNPOL to the KPS, and how the complicated status of Kosovo reflected on policing. He also gives many accounts of his experience while patrolling with the police.

Case Study: Building the Police Service in a Security Vacuum: International Efforts in Kosovo, 1999-2011

General Reshat Maliqi discusses the main challenges faced by the police in Kosovo, including a boycott by Serbian officers due to the political situation. He gives details about the process of transition between the United Nations forces and the Kosovo Police, and the recruitment and promotion process. In his opinion, the Department for Community Affairs and the Community Policing Unit represented success stories in Kosovo. As the main priorities, he cites boosting investigative capacity through training, better equipping and training specialized units, and joining regional and international police organizations such as Europol and Interpol. He also believes that the Kosovo Police should take more responsibilities and rely less on the international community.

Case Study: Building the Police Service in a Security Vacuum: International Efforts in Kosovo, 1999-2011