Professionless legalisation campaigns, large number of illegal weapons

In recent days, Kosovo has faced murder by various motives, which have also violated public security. In just this week, there have been three firearms deaths. The Kosovo Police Information Office, in an electronic response to Radio Kosovo, stresses that in the January-July period, 636 weapons and over 9,000 ammunition of various calibres have confiscated. In this period, police records point out 14 murders, seven of them, serious murders.

Security officials estimate there are over 250 thousand illegal weapons in the hands of citizens. Speaking to Radio Kosovo, security expert Drizan Shala says Kosovo Police campaigns for legalisation of weapons have shown a negative effect.

So the illegal weapons that have remained as a result of the 1990s wars, and the Kosovo Police and MPBs over these years have had several campaigns designed to encourage citizens to surrender, legalise and then have a stricter control of illegal weapons. These campaigns have usually served only for political consumption and have spent thousands of euros only to damage the budget, but the effect has been only negative”, Shala told Radio Kosovo.

The home illegal weapons phenomenon is difficult to control, Mentor Vrajolli tells Radio of Kosovo Centre for Security Studies.

The citizens hold illegal weapons at home and it is extremely difficult to prevent all incidents. What institutions can do is they have to make sure those with criminal precedents face justice in the first instance and not create the feeling of being stronger than law or immune to law. So this would probably lower the risk of crime, and we should be realistic that crimes occur beyond the power of 48x1> institutions, he said.

However, security experts estimate that the Department for Public Security has greater numbers to monitor, static checkpoints, raids and co-ordination of public-private institutions to minimise and control, order and public safety in the country.