The security situation in the north of Kosovo is much better than during previous years. Kosovo Police have managed to succeed in destroying criminal gangs in that part of the country.

The General Director General of the Kosovo Police, Rashit Qalaj, said for Ekonomia Online (EO) that the Kosovo Police is operating and working in the North without any kind of problems, and that cooperation with the citizens there has improved dramatically compared to previous years.

“If we talk about success of the Kosovo Police and refer to the northern part of the country, I can surely underline as a success police work in that part of our country, which is being done without problems. Security situation is much better than in previous years. Citizens in the north begun to trust the Kosovo Police more than in previous years, and cooperation between citizens and the police has also increased,”Qalaj told EO.

“We will always act where anywhere to arrest suspects and bring them to justice, regardless of the place they live and work. The police have succeeded in destroying many criminal groups across the country, including north, and it will continue to treat them all the same,” he added.

Qalaj also tackled the general statistics on various criminal cases, which, as he said, have decreased significantly compared to previous years.

“I can say that at the beginning of each year our institution drafts targets for the new year. It has been our goal to reduce cases by 5 per cent and increase case detection at the country level. These parameters have been exceeded several times. From January 1, 2019 to December 23, 2019, number of cases reported to the Kosovo Police decreased by 9.04 percent, while number of criminal offenses that occurred during this period was 16.21 percent,” Qalaj explained.

“Number of thefts decreased by 23.2 percent, serious thefts has also decreased, as well as number of robberies, which decreased 41.7 percent. He have also had a significant decrease of cases that occurred in religious cultural heritage facilities, by 13.25 percent, and far fewer inter-ethnic cases, where suspects and victims are members of different Kosovo communities, with around 40 percent decline, ” he concluded.