Kurti: 20 Police Facilities Built in North as 397 Graduate
Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said at a ceremony in Pristina that 20 police facilities were built or reinforced in the north, and referred a question on uniforms to the ministry.
Kosovo Police has 397 new officers. Members of the 63rd generation took the oath yesterday, Friday, November 6, in the “October 1” hall in Pristina, after six months of training. Of the graduates, 118 are women and 279 are men. At the ceremony, Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti said that over the past five years 20 police stations, facilities and bases have been built and reinforced in the north.
Why was the ceremony a week late?
The graduation was originally scheduled for October 30 and took place a week later. Several Kosovo media outlets reported that the reason was a shortage of uniforms and pieces of equipment. The daily Koha wrote that the caps the cadets wore at the ceremony were borrowed from officers already in service. Kosovo Police did not comment on those claims in its statement on the completed graduation.
Ahead of the ceremony, the Police Inspectorate of Kosovo recommended the suspension of the Kosovo Police procurement director over suspected abuse of office.
Reporters asked Kurti about the uniforms. The prime minister did not give a reason for the delay and instead shifted responsibility for procurement to the line ministry: “As for the supply of equipment and uniforms, the Ministry of Internal Affairs can give you an appropriate answer.” Minister of Internal Affairs Xhelal Svecla, in his address at the ceremony, said that “there are no administrative procedures or public procurement procedures, and there will not be any, that will stop our commitment to the development of the Kosovo Police.”
What did Kurti say about investment?
Addressing the new officers, Kurti spoke about money and infrastructure. According to KoSSev, his words were as follows:
“In the last five years, besides the fact that the Kosovo Police budget has been increased by more than 50 percent, we have 20 police stations, facilities and bases that have been built and reinforced across the whole north of our country. The regular police have been equipped with long-barreled weapons, which they previously lacked, as well as new vehicles and armored cars, procured for almost eight million euros.”
The sources differ on geography: KoSSev quotes the prime minister as saying “across the whole north of our country,” while Radio Kim reports the same figure as 20 stations, facilities and bases “across Kosovo.”
Two figures also fail to match. Kurti said the police budget grew by more than 50 percent. Minister Svecla cited an increase of 60 percent, from 109 million to 173 million euros, and added that a total of 732 million euros was allocated and spent on the police over five years.
Kurti also linked police work in the north to the discovery of three sites with wartime remains, in Mala Kaludra and Jabuka in the municipality of Zubin Potok. He told the new officers that responsibility matters most in the service:
“Representing this institution is one of the greatest responsibilities that can and should be entrusted to you. Service with integrity and professionalism must always remain a priority.”
The prime minister added: “The achievements are many, but we must not and should not be complacent about them.”
What did Hoti and Haxhiu tell the cadets?
Acting Deputy Director General of Kosovo Police, Colonel Fehmi Hoti, addressed the cadets with words about the uniform:
“The uniform you will wear is not just official clothing. It represents the trust of citizens, the authority of the law, and the responsibility to protect it. So always wear it with dignity, honor and pride.”
Hoti added that an officer’s authority does not rest on legal powers alone: “Respect is earned through conduct, justice is proven through deeds, and trust is built through service.” He also noted that Kosovo Police has so far lost 26 members in the line of duty.
Speaker of the Assembly of Kosovo Albulena Haxhiu stressed that 118 of the 397 new officers are women and spoke about protecting women from violence. She recalled the founding of Kosovo Police in 1999, and on reports of violence she said:
“When a woman turns to the institutions, the risk must be assessed seriously, and measures for her protection must be taken in time. We cannot accept that violence against women is treated as a private matter or a family disagreement, or that patriarchal prejudice influences the decisions of those whose duty it is to protect them.”
Her warning came less than two weeks after the killing of a woman in Vitomirica near Peja on October 25. According to information so far, violence had previously been reported, and her brother-in-law is suspected of the killing. KoSSev reports that three cases linked to the incident were transferred on October 27 from the Basic Prosecution Office in Peja to the Basic Prosecution Office in Pristina.
