During the reporting period, the DSPS also provided capacity building support to community safety forums at the local level throughout Kosovo, with a particular focus on the Kosovo Serb and other non-Albanian communities. In light of increased interest of returnees to establish LPSCs in their villages, the Department supported the KP in the establishment and capacity building of six new and one re-established LPSCs in non-majority (Kosovo Serb) and mixed communities, bringing the total number of LPSCs to 33. The Department’s support aimed at fostering an inter-community dialogue and a reconciliation process in return villages. A high level of Kosovo Serb and Ashkali communities’ representation in the new LPSCs (50 per cent) clearly demonstrated the increase of trust towards the police and the willingness of non-majority communities to be involved in community safety initiatives. In addition to delivering a comprehensive training package during certain periods over the year, as part of training modules on “Partnerships Building” and “Problem Solving”, the DSPS, in co-operation with OMIK’s DHRC, supported the newly established LPSCs in organizing high-scale project presentation sessions in their respective communities. These sessions involved a wide audience of stakeholders and potential partners, including municipal authorities, international organizations, NGOs and potential donors who could respond to future requests from LPSCs. These meetings helped to enhance the visibility of LPSCs and to create stronger links with external stakeholders, in order to ensure long-lasting attention and support for their grassroots initiatives, relating to safety, security and liveability in their areas of responsibility. To promote the community policing philosophy and support community safety projects and activities throughout Kosovo, the Department further trained 15 selected LPSC members as Community Safety Trainers (with 34 per cent of them from non-majority communities) order to widen and deepen their partnership-building and problem-solving skills. The training was held from 19-23 October at KAPS. In order to ensure regular communication between LPSCs throughout Kosovo, the DSPS supported the facilitation of two meetings of the LPSCs Executive Council in 2012. The first meeting took place on 6 June in the Gračanica/Graçanicë municipality, and the second one on 7 December in the Gjilan/Gnjilane municipality. The second meeting summarized the achievements of the LPSCs and their partners during 2012, familiarized the participants with LPSC challenges across Kosovo, and developed suggestions and future plans for the improvement of safety, security and quality of life in the respective communities. The DSPS also continued contributing to the capacity building of the Municipal Community Safety Councils (MCSCs). In the first half of 2012, five MCSCs were trained based on the methodology developed in the previous years. The DSPS observed a gradual increase in understanding of the MCSCs’ importance by central institutions. The MCSCs were acknowledged as an integral part of implementation of the National Community Safety Strategy and Action Plan. It was working group on the implementation of the aforementioned strategy that emphasized urgent need to improve the MCSC-related legislation. the the the the In order to support the MCSCs to become more functional, publicly accepted and utilized as efficient community safety forums, the DSPS supported the process of reviewing and amending the inter-ministerial AI for MCSCs in the second quarter of 2012. The AI, which was approved by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Local Government Administration on 22 August, provides guidance to all MCSCs in Kosovo, as well as to other relevant institutions including the KP and municipalities, in the area of community safety at the municipal level. Furthermore, this AI was expected to help MCSCs to fulfil their proactive problem-solving role more effectively and to realize their additional potential as forums for inter-ethnic 56