Summary
"This study contributes to the contemporary debate about external citizen oversight (ECO) of police by taking up the challenge of assessing the extent to which such oversight agencies or their procedures are associated with lower levels of police misconduct. More specifically, the research consists of a case study of the Police Inspectorate of Kosovo (PIK), an example of ‘holistic’ ECO – i.e. an agency that combines a reactive (complaint investigation) function with a proactive (policy recommendation) function. It is the first such evaluation of police governance and oversight in Kosovo, employing both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Importantly, it adds to a small but growing body of research into the perceptions of police officers about the impact of ECO on police conduct. It triangulates documentary evidence - including legislation, procedures, PIK reports and statistical data – with primary data obtained through a questionnaire survey of junior-ranked police officers and semi-structured interviews with senior-ranked."--Abstract.