Kosovo: ICITAP Identifies Areas of Improvement in Domestic Violence Response

On July 2, the ICITAP-Kosovo mission reported that, during the month of May 2021, ICITAP-Kosovo’s Law Enforcement Assistance Attaché and the ICITAP team led a series of five round-table discussions with the Kosovo Police Domestic Violence investigators and officers to identify areas of improvement that would enhance the police response and better serve victims and children in domestic violence situations. The teams provided input which ICITAP team compiled into one document that identified areas/materials needed to respond to crime more effectively. On June 1, 2021, the ICITAP-Kosovo team presented their findings and recommendations to the Kosovo Police General Director and the Executive Management staff. On June 2, the Kosovo Police Human Resources and Operation Departments, organized a meeting on increasing capacities for handling and investigating domestic violence cases. Other international partners and local stake holders participated in that meeting. On June 4, the KP Domestic Violence section responded to the ICITAP findings and recommendations with a full report of the immediate steps they have taken thus far, and the long term planned activities designed to improve the overall police response to domestic violence. In Kosovo, ICITAP works with the support of and in coordination with the U.S. Department of State.