Olga Stefanovic remembers the day she first wore the uniform of the Kosovo police. It was January 20, 2003, and less than four years had passed since the end of the war.
“My husband joined the police in 2000, and through him I learned more about the profession,” said Stefanovic, a Serb from the village of Lesak in the northern Kosovo municipality of Leposavic.
“At that time, I thought it would be just for a short period; little did I know that I would stand by this institution for almost 22 years.”
In those 22 years, Kosovo has gone from a ward of the United Nations to an independent state, recognised by more than 100 countries worldwide but not by Serbia or its big-power backer in the UN Security Council, Russia.
In a predominantly Albanian-populated country, 47-year-old Stefanovic represents a success story – a Serb woman who went from patrol officer to domestic violence investigator and now heads specialised training at Kosovo’s Academy for Public Safety, with the rank of major. Besides Serbian and English, she also speaks Albanian.
According to official data, Kosovo’s 8,642 police officers come from all communities: Albanian, Serb, Bosniak, Turk, Roma, Ashkali, Egyptian, Circassian, Gorani and Montenegrin.
But the process of creating a police force representative of Kosovo’s multi-ethnicity has been a bumpy ride, in large part due to continued tensions between Serbia and Kosovo over an EU-mediated process of ‘normalisation’ that has dragged on for years with only limited progress on the ground. The actions of the police are regularly scrutinised for any sign of bias.
In 2022, amid yet another flare-up in tensions, Serbs resigned en masse from public sector jobs in Kosovo, including the police and courts, in a major setback to the force. Stefanovic was not among them.
“Although the Kosovo Police has made efforts to foster diversity and inclusivity, the ongoing political and ethnic tensions have made it difficult for the police to function as a truly unified institution,” said security expert Drizan Shala.
‘Wearing the uniform is an honour’
Kosovo Police officer Besiana Sejdijaj. Photo: Ridvan Slivova.
Twenty years after Stefanovic joined the police, Besiana Sejdijaj, 21, signed up too, as a member of Kosovo’s Egyptian community in Peja/Pec, western Kosovo.
“My parents told me that when I was three or four years old, I was very afraid of the police,” Sejdijaj told BIRN. “But surprisingly, over the years, this fear turned into my greatest dream of becoming a police officer.”
It was a dream that took her to northern Kosovo and the police station in Zubin Potok, which like Leposavic is one of four predominantly Serb-populated municipalities bordering Serbia in the north. This area has long been the focus of tensions, as Kosovo seeks to extend the writ of its institutions at the expense of Serbia’s.
“My family has supported me greatly on this journey,” said Sejdijaj.
“At first, they hesitated a bit because when I was accepted into the Kosovo Police and stationed in the northern Mitrovica region… they were afraid for me. But I was ready and aware of the situation because I specifically applied for the position in the northern community. Eventually, they accepted it because they knew about my dream.”
Creating a multi-ethnic police force has long been seen as a prerequisite for improving relations between Kosovo’s communities following a 1998-99 war when Yugoslav and Serbian forces under the control of then Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic waged a brutal counter-insurgency war that involved atrocities against civilians and widespread ethnic cleansing. NATO air strikes forced Milosevic to withdraw, and Kosovo came under the control of the UN before declaring independence in February 2008.
“The fair treatment of minorities within the organisation has been and remains the duty of the Kosovo Police,” the force’s media office told BIRN.
Kushtrim Hodaj, head of the Kosovo Police Inspectorate, said the force had no record of any incident stemming from an officer’s ethnicity.
“In our databases, there are no cases where officers from any community have reported feeling discriminated against due to their ethnicity or religion,” Hodaj said.
“Regarding promotions and leadership positions, we have not received any complaints, nor are there cases where someone was promoted or not promoted because of their ethnicity.”
He conceded, however, that the resignation of more than 600 Serb officers “has disrupted the ethnic representation balance”.
Rashit Qalaj, an MP and member of parliament’s Security and Protection Committee, accused Serbia of trying to maintain influence over Serbs in the north of Kosovo.
“Serbia is using all of its state apparatus to maintain full control over the Serbian community by using intimidation, blackmail and threats, by fabricating incidents, and the use of force against individuals who think differently,” Qalaj said.
Shala, the security expert, said the resignations had undermined the force’s ability to maintain order in the north.
“The departures created an immediate need for replacement officers and raised questions about the efficiency and cohesion of the Kosovo Police in the northern part of the country,” he said.
“The situation has also contributed to further polarisation between ethnic communities, as local Serbian populations, largely distrustful of Kosovo’s central authorities, view the Kosovo Police with suspicion.”
‘Prejudices against women in uniform’
Stefanovic recalled that when she joined the force, her family backed her, but not necessarily her local community.
“I had the support of my family, but I’m not sure the community had a positive opinion of my work,” she said. And it was not just about a Serb joining a predominantly Albanian police force. There was also the issue of gender.
“We live in a society where there are prejudices against women as police officers, but with my attitude toward work and my interactions with colleagues and citizens, I’ve left no room for these prejudices to take root,” said Stefanovic.
Men still dominate, however, accounting for just over 86 per cent of the force.
Stefanovic said she had been careful to build a professional relationship with colleagues.
“In my environment, all my colleagues come from different communities, and considering this, I have built mutual trust which has helped us avoid any uncomfortable situations,” she said.
“Besides official matters, we sometimes share and discuss private issues, but this is only with a small number of colleagues.”
She noted, however, that she had never been invited by colleagues from other ethnic communities to family events, nor had she invited them. Only in the event of a bereavement, she said, “I would sometime go to express my condolences”.
Lieutenant Reshat Hyseni, an Albanian who joined the force a few months before Stefanovic, offered a slightly different picture.
“The good relationships between us hold great value as they positively impact our will, desire, and professionalism in performing our official duties,” he said. “This has allowed us to know each other better, and naturally, we have been invited and continue to be invited to family events or bereavement cases, and the responses to these invitations are mutual.”
Merita Kadriu-Berisha, who joined the force in 2013, stressed the support within her unit, which she described as “a family”.
“Our unit, whenever there are recruitment drives for communities, goes out and conducts awareness campaigns, helping them to integrate into the Kosovo Police,” she said.
“Like many children, I always dreamed of becoming a police officer.”
Kadriu-Berisha now has three children of her own – all girls.
“I believe that each of us must find extra energy to give our best contribution, both in private life and in performing our police duties,” she said.
Sejdijaj said language remains a challenge in the north, where she works.
“When citizens understand Albanian, I speak with them because some Serbian citizens understand Albanian,” she said. “If they don’t, then my Serbian colleagues help me.”
