KOSOVO: KOSOVO POLICE SERVICE INFORMATION SHARING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000055 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR, EUR/SCE, DRL, INL, AND S/WCI, NSC FOR BRAUN, USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE STEGER E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/28/2018 TAGS: PGOV EAID KDEM UNMIK KV SUBJECT: KOSOVO: KOSOVO POLICE SERVICE INFORMATION SHARING PLANS REF: PRISTINA 34 Classified By: COM TINA KAIDANOW FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D) ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: As part of the Strategic Communications Group (SCG) -- the USOP-led effort to coordinate information flow among key local and international actors in Kosovo in the run-up to and aftermath of status resolution (ref) -- the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) has shared with USOP its new, decentralized public outreach plan utilizing local and Kosovo-wide media, as well as the networks of international organizations in Kosovo. By empowering the officer at the site of the incident, in coordination with the local station commander, the KPS can speed information sharing with the media to preclude inaccurate or misleading reporting. In the event of a larger-scale crisis, particularly one involving minority communities, KPS has plans in place to coordinate its activities with Kosovo political leaders and key international actors, such as USOP. In advance of a status declaration, KPS is also promoting its public face to the communities it serves. Station commanders will sit for interviews on locally-based talk shows, often alongside local mayors, to offer a message of calm and restraint and to reassure citizens that KPS is intent on providing security. We have already seen evidence of this pro-active campaign and it apprears to be helping spread the message of calm and security. END SUMMARY. Empowering First Responders: KPS' Information Plan at Local, Regional and Central Levels ¶2. (SBU) The Kosovo Police Service (KPS) has shared with USOP, through its energetic spokesman Veton Elshani, its new plan for dealing with the media in the coming critical weeks of Kosovo final status resolution. The plan, which complements the work of the USOP-led Strategic Communications Group, lays out how information should be shared depending on the sensitivity of the incident. If an incident is localized and not sensitive (i.e., not involving Kosovo Serbs, for example),the officer at the scene may receive authorization from the chief of operations (his or her first point of contact) to speak directly with the media at the scene. In cases of potentially sensitive incidents at the local level, the station commander will become the central point of contact for information sharing. He or she will determine if the officer at the scene should give a statement to the press, and he or she will inform the regional KPS spokesperson. He or she may also coordinate a statement with the local mayor. ¶3. (SBU) If an incident has or could potentially affect an entire region of Kosovo, the KPS regional spokesperson will coordinate statements to the press. Regional KPS spokespersons are authorized to call the officer at the scene. Regional spokespersons will also inform central KPS headquarters. KPS spokesman Elshani will get involved and speak with the press if: 1) a case has a suspected inter-ethnic motive, 2) if there is damage to a cultural heritage site, 3) if the case involves a homicide, regardless of ethnicity, and 4) if there are explosions or damage to property in mixed or Serb-majority municipalities such as, but not limited to Mitrovica, Dragas, Gjilan, Strpce or Gracanica. In addition, if any incident takes place in a Serb-majority area, the Mitrovica regional spokesman, Besim Hoti, will be informed. (Hoti has good contact with Serbian press in North Mitrovica and is authorized to give statements regarding incidents involving Kosovo Serbs anywhere in Kosovo.) KPS Information Crisis Planning, Coordination within the Strategic Communications Group ¶4. (C) In the event of a crisis situation, KPS will engage several information sharing mechanisms. They will put out hourly reports to the press and to all the members of the Strategic Communications Group (USOP, KFOR, KPC, UNMIK, ICOPT, EUPT, British Office, Ministry of Interior, Ministry PRISTINA 00000055 002 OF 002 of Local Government). All members of the SCG will be able to contact the regional spokespersons directly if they need information on an incident. The Crisis Management Office (CMO),located in the Office of the Prime Minister, will be the link between the political leadership and the KPS. KPS, KFOR, KPC, UNMIK, the Ministry of Interior, and the Ministry of Local Government will all have representatives on the CMO. If KPS needs political guidance on a decision, the Government will coordinate its decision from this office. Government statements will also come from this office, as it allows for close coordination with all sources of information from the ground. The CMO will contact the information office staff at the ICOPT, EUPT and key liaison offices directly, via email and text messages so they can then spread the word down through their networks, including local officials, media, and NGOs. The ability to contact regional spokespersons should aid liaison offices and the ICOPT in getting information quickly. (Note: The information flow between the KPS and liaison offices in the event of a crisis relies heavily on the cell network. In the event of a cell and/or landline network crash, KPS' and the CMO's hourly media reports via local TV and radio will be the main source of information for the information offices at the ICO, EUPT and liaison offices. End Note.) Getting their face out now: KPS outreach on security now ¶5. (SBU) KPS station commanders will also be participating in interviews with local TV stations over the course of the coming weeks. Their message will be one of calm, restraint and security and the work that KPS is doing to foster this environment. These commanders will often appear on TV alongside municipal mayors to project coordination and cooperation. KPS spokesman Elshani tells us he wants citizens to see these two community officials together now, so that if they see them together talking about an incident, it will not come as a surprise. This joint outreach will be particularly powerful in municipalities where the station commander and the mayor are from different ethnic communities, such as Novo Brdo and Kamenica. We have already seen several such joint appearances (noted in USOP's daily Bullets to EUR/SCE) and they appear to be having a positive and stabilizing impact on the communities they serve. ¶6. (C) COMMENT: The new, decentralized plan for KPS interaction with the media should speed information flow from the site of an incident. This plan, in addition to the Crisis Management Office, should expedite message coordination among the KPS, KFOR, KPC, UNMIK and the Kosovo government, as well as with key liaison offices, including USOP. Efforts to ramp up its public face now, alongside local political leaders, will help KPS open lines of communication in their communities. Testing these systems is the remaining hurdle. KPS has already put this new plan into action for small, isolated, non-sensitive incidents. A larger-scale test that involves other security structures and requires communication between all the members of the Strategic Communications Group should happen within the next week. KAIDANOW