Balaj calls request to lend female officers’ caps to cadets a misunderstanding

Kosovo Police Captain Fatmir Balaj has described as a misunderstanding a request for female police officers to hand over their uniform caps to be lent temporarily to the 63rd class of cadets until graduation.

Asked about the issue on the Debat Plus program, Balaj provided no further details and referred inquiries to the Kosovo Police Information Office.

“It is a misunderstanding. For anything you need to know, the police have a Media Office. Seek information there,” Balaj said.

An internal communication obtained by Vox Kosova shows that directors of police directorates and heads of police units had been asked to inform female officers that they were to hand over their caps.

Under the instructions, the caps were to be collected by the directorates and units, including regional offices, and then handed over to the Kosovo Police Logistics Directorate.

In another communication obtained by the outlet, officers in one police unit were informed that the caps would be lent to the 63rd class until the graduation ceremony was over and then returned to their owners.

News of the cap loans comes after the postponement of the cadets’ graduation ceremony, originally scheduled for October 30. The cadets have been informed that the ceremony will take place on November 6 because of a shortage of uniforms and necessary equipment.