Spahiu: The police must serve the citizens; it is more cautious in the north than in other parts of Kosovo

Political analyst Nexhmedin Spahiu believes that the police must serve citizens and that disciplinary violations among Kosovo Police members occur far more frequently in other parts of Kosovo than in the north.

"Many improvements are needed in the work of the police, but my impression is that the police in the north are more cautious than, for example, in any other part of Kosovo. There are far more disciplinary violations in other parts of Kosovo than in the north, likely because higher authorities have ordered there to be as few as possible or none at all," Spahiu told Kosovo Online.

He emphasized that the police must be at the service of citizens.

"They should serve the citizens, but to what extent they do so must be assessed on the ground with specific observations. I haven’t noticed anything particularly exceptional in this regard," Spahiu said.

As an example, he referred to the ban on celebrating the Albanian Flag Day in northern Kosovo.

"I know that on November 28, during the celebrations, when there was shouting throughout Kosovo, it was strictly prohibited in the north. I think the deputy police chief for the north handled this well to avoid any provocations," the analyst noted.

When asked to comment on the numerous complaints from the Serbian community about the conduct of Kosovo Police, Spahiu acknowledged the possibility of such incidents and said it is the responsibility of the Police Inspectorate to ensure that all such violations are sanctioned.

He believes that the Serbian community lacks trust in the Kosovo Police, fearing retaliation due to how Serbian police previously treated Albanians.

"There are prejudices that the Kosovo Police will be repressive toward Serbs because of what we experienced during a period of repression by the Serbian police in Kosovo," Spahiu claimed.

He also says that the language barrier is a significant issue.

"Serbs have been accustomed for over a century to having their own police force that speaks their language and is theirs. Now, suddenly, they have a police force that often doesn’t even fully understand the language spoken in their community," Spahiu observed.