Benjamin Cestoni describes the recruitment procedures employed by El Salvador's National Academy for Public Security.  Every three months, the process begins with a national recruitment announcement, a sequence of five qualifying exams that apply appropriate standards for both male and female potential cadets, personal interviews, and a vetting process that involves background checks within the recruits’ communities.  Cestoni identifies the financial burden associated with foregoing salaried employment while at the academy as a challenge for both recruitment and completion of training.  The effectiveness of each recruitment round depends on the agricultural seasons, and there is a high drop-out rate due to cadets finding paid employment.  The main incentive to join the academy is the prospect of long-term job stability, but Cestoni says the promotion system must be improved.  He underscores the success of recruitment of women, whose enrollment increased from 4% to 7%.  He identifies areas of present and potential coordination with the National Civil Police.  First, a recent curricular shift at the academy favors hands-on, skill-intensive training over theoretical instruction, which necessitates the cooperation of the police.  Second, there is constant feedback between the two institutions, so that training workshops are developed in response to the needs of acting officers.  This process resulted in great improvement in the area of investigations.  Nonetheless, Cestoni points to a need for coordinated follow-up on students after graduation, to consolidate assessment of each officer’s career progress.  Cestoni attributes academy modernization to the support offered by the international community, especially from Spain, France and the United States.  His most important suggestion for cost-efficient cooperation is for donors to emphasize deployment of trainers to the host country over inviting trainees to donor countries.

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

Iver Frigaard describes how criminal networks developed in Kosovo in the absence of effective law enforcement activity. He discusses his reasons for objecting to the decision to drop the word Service from the official name of the Kosovo Police Service. He describes the police force as functional and says police had earned the respect of the population despite being deficient in certain skills. He discusses the problems of low salaries, corruption, political influence, the process of recruitment and vetting, and the transfer of power and responsibilities from the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo to the Kosovo Police. He extensively describes the issues of politicization and ethnic differences that affected the police force 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

Kadi Fakondo discusses improvements in policing in Sierra Leone in the few years prior to the 2008 interview. She discusses the emphasis placed on management, human rights, electoral policing and crowd control within the Sierra Leone Police. Fakondo also reflects on the creation of the highly successful Family Support Unit for victims of domestic or sexual violence. She discusses the success of police in improving recruitment and training procedures and increasing transparency. She praises the media for creating awareness and attributes improved media relations to the democratization and transparency of the police organization. Fakondo also discusses support from international organizations and donors in bolstering police operations.     

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

Pedro Baltazar González discusses two aspects related to the activities of the National Academy of Public Security: recruitment strategies, and training and modernization of the police force.  Underscoring the academy’s commitment to recruitment of young people with a vocation for public service—regardless of their initial skills—he describes a successful internal recruitment strategy based on referrals by current officers.  He identifies another media-aware recruitment strategy aimed at young people from eastern El Salvador, who are underrepresented among recruits due to the influence of relatives living abroad. The importance of this strategy is due to the negative impact of relocation of other academy graduates to the east in the absence of any personal ties to the region.  González then discusses a number of initiatives undertaken to modernize the curriculum at the academy, emphasizing a shift from theoretical instruction to practical work. Training addresses other changes in society, such as gender sensitivity issues and new judicial developments to keep up with changing demands from the populace.

Mustafa Resat Tekinbas speaks about his role with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) Police.  As a deputy police commissioner, he discusses his experience both in working with U.N. international policing and with the administrative intricacies of the Kosovo mission.  He begins by detailing the structure of the UNMIK police and explaining the progress the mission had made in the eight years since the inception of the force.  Tekinbas talks about the U.N. policies behind international police assignments, the limitations of pre-deployment training and aspects of the immersive training that takes place in the field.  He details efforts to deploy international police in certain areas to maximize their effectiveness.  He concludes with an example of the grueling work schedule of an international policeman and offers ideas for improvement.  

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