GOVERNMENT PROGRAM 2017 – 2021 (Ministry of the Interior)

PUBLIC ORDER AND SAFETY

Achieving the standard of EU countries in terms of order and public safety is the challenge of this Government for the next 4 years.

The focus of strategic priorities and action in the field of order and internal security will be:

– Strengthening the institutions responsible for public order and security. The entire force of the State Police will undergo the “Vetting” process based on a special legal framework drawn up and closely and directly monitored by international partners. The process will also include a complete reconceptualization of the recruitment and promotion system based entirely on merit and with transparency as a fundamental characteristic.

– Reorganization of the police presence system in the territory, ensuring a more professional control of it and the application of “community policing” policies. Within this organization, among others, work will be done to establish monitoring/advisory groups with community members. The qualitative change of the system of territory control and community policing will primarily serve the prevention of criminality and violations of the law. The crime situation in a given territory will be the measure and evaluation of work for each police officer responsible for that territory.

– Uncompromising war and severe criminal punishment against various criminal groups and/or organizations by hitting every illegal economic asset of theirs, constitutes an absolute priority for the Albanian Government. The complete restructuring of the police structures engaged in this war and the better definition of the chain of responsibility of the investigation of such cases, will be a priority. We will review the legal framework related to the investigation of criminal offenses with the aim of strengthening the responsibilities of the relevant investigative body. We will change, without violating any standard that respects basic human rights and freedoms, the system of surveillance and collection of any information related to criminal groups, especially those involved in drug trafficking. Include here also entities that make investments that do not turn out to have economic activity that justifies the invested income. With the start of the operation of the new institutions of the justice system, we believe that the police and the prosecutor’s office will build mutual trust and effective cooperation.

– It remains a priority for the new Government to strengthen border control and improve service at border crossing points as a condition to guarantee the free movement of people and goods.

– We reaffirm the commitment of the Albanian Government to turn into a consolidated reality what we achieved already this year – the removal of our country from the map of cannabis-growing countries. As part of this process, every property, movable and immovable, that was created from unjustified income and mostly derived from drug trafficking will be investigated. In implementation of the national action plan against the cultivation of cannabis, the Government will create an efficient support system for the development of the agricultural economy in the territories affected by this phenomenon. Tough measures will be taken to crack down on cases of the presence and access to drugs near educational institutions and in all environments frequented by pupils and students.

– The fight with zero tolerance against corruption, especially corruption at the highest levels and the seizure and confiscation of income of criminal origin, criminal assets or unjustified wealth invested by official corruption constitute another priority for us as the Government.

– We will commit to the radical improvement of the road control system, aiming to create a European culture in the circulation of vehicles and people and especially in the management of road safety. The number of traffic police officers present on the road axes will gradually be reduced and replaced by technological equipment. The system for recording traffic violations will be computerized. The technological systems that will be applied in this case will provide data in real time on the vehicles that circulate, identifying in real time also cases of circulation of irregular and/or stolen technical vehicles, etc.

– In cooperation with international partners, we will design the National Intelligence and Information Strategy, which will include, among other things, the establishment of a Unified National Data System (Database). The Unified Service of Communication, Work Document Flow Management, and Communication and Information Technology will be established as effective management tools within the state police for the administration of legal documents and for effective coordination with the prosecutor’s office, the Special Prosecutor’s Office and the Bureau National Investigation.

– The above priorities necessarily require the consolidation of international cooperation with specialized organizations in the fight against crime, including direct assistance in our territory from international institutions and/or partner police services in the fight against crime , mainly the organized one. In this context, we will successfully use the establishment of joint mobile police teams with partner countries as an opportunity for the rapid exchange of information, the performance of joint criminal investigation operations, the better protection of data and associates of justice, the use of methods and contemporary technology, but also as a good opportunity for further professional training of our police structures.

GOVERNMENT PROGRAM 2013 – 2017 (Ministry of Internal Affairs)

Life Safety

The drastic increase in crime figures, especially serious criminal offenses against the life and property of citizens and the continuous violation of basic human rights and freedoms, dictates the necessity of a fundamental multidimensional reform for to restore security and guarantee public order, social life and the development of entrepreneurship in Albania, as well as the fulfillment of our regional and international commitments.

Ignoring or violating the law, lack of transparency and public participation, anarchy in the legal framework and sectoral reforms, militancy, lack of professionalism, lack of training, demotivation and in many cases, corruption or connections with the world of crime, are among the reasons for the exponential increase in crime figures and the low level of efficiency of the State Police, undermining public confidence in the force and enforcement of the law.

Considering security and the restoration of public order as an absolute priority, the Government is committed to restoring public confidence in a safer Albania, where the force of law applies to everyone in a fair way. equal, in fulfillment and respect of basic human rights and freedoms. Our absolute objective is to break down the wall of impunity and illegal immunities.

We:

i. we will return the State Police to the task, to guarantee public order and tranquility;

ii. we will return the State Police to the control of the territory, engaging all the necessary resources for crime prevention and significantly reducing the level of criminality;

iii. we will normalize road traffic, taking the necessary measures to avoid serious accidents;

iv. we will qualitatively improve the service of the State Police at the border and the fight against cross-border crime. The government will undertake measures for the prevention of crime against the life and property of citizens, paying special attention to cases of crime in the family, based on gender, against minors, the elderly and all socially disadvantaged groups, revenge and blood feud, as well as to open conflicts with the potential to bring criminal consequences.

Benefiting from the help and experience of international partners, we will mark a qualitative increase in the fight against economic crime and especially against money laundering. We will also re-dimension the State Police’s fight against criminal offenses against the environment, destruction of territory, monuments and cultural heritage.

The new government will implement a concrete program for the deep reform of the State Police and other law enforcement agencies:

i. to meet the highest standards of democratic, transparent, controllable and accountable functioning to citizens;

ii. to implement a working model strictly based on law enforcement, responsibilities, powers, State Police activity procedures; as well as

iii. to consolidate relations with independent institutions and intensive cooperation with international partners and regional and international police interaction.

This reform will start with the structural and functional reconceptualization of the Ministry of the Interior and the State Police. The main goal is to build a system of centralized mechanisms that guarantee efficiency, accountability, functional action for the full protection of the law throughout the country and effectiveness in time.

The principle of the reform “One State – One Police” will make it possible to unify the police functions of several similar law enforcement agencies, eliminating the overlapping of powers, anarchy of action or inaction, as well as guaranteeing the standardization of action in territory and time.

THE RULE OF LAW AND THE DEMOCRATIZATION OF SOCIETY

The government will focus on immediately improving the quality of the State Police service for citizens, increasing the preventive and striking power against crime and guaranteeing equality before the law, without any exception.

The government will commit all appropriate resources to implement the basic principles in the activity of State Police employees: unification of work procedures, standardization of performance protocol, reporting and monitoring of work efficiency, simplification of the organizational structure and reform of management levels, redimensioning of responsibilities for each function, determination of workload and related responsibilities.

The effective implementation of these principles will guarantee that no violation of the law will go unpunished due to lack or confusion of powers or non-exercise of powers recognized by the legal framework.

The government will reorganize the police units that serve the citizens, aiming to strengthen the service in the territory close to the people, increase the quality of policing, intervention and the timely resolution of conflicts that become the source of events criminal.

To increase the preventive force of the Police and the effective investigation of criminal offences,

i. we will cut the redundant links of the Police structures;

ii. we will resize and strengthen the basic structures of the Police at the community level;

iii. we will redistribute the police force, keeping in mind demographic movements and the map of criminal potential;

iv. we will implement a system of detailed information processing and criminal analysis;

v. we will build an effective and sustainable partnership between the State Police, local government institutions, civil society and the community.

In order to increase the degree of cooperation between the State Police and citizens, especially the young generation, the government will include in the compulsory education curriculum the basic elements of legal education related to criminal phenomena, road traffic , the mission and functions of the State Police, as well as civic education for transparency and participation in policing.

We will organize a series of sensitization activities for the knowledge of the legislation and the cooperation of the public in the prevention and evidence of criminal offenses.

It will implement a plan of concrete measures to restore dignity and authority to the institution and employees of the State Police. These measures will include the following directions.

We will clarify, modernize and fully respect the recruitment, promotion and career criteria for State Police employees; we will correctly define the job description, responsibilities, as well as the work, monitoring, evaluation and promotion procedures for every employee of the State Police at all levels, correcting illegality, corruption, militancy and lack of professionalism in these processes.

On this basis, we will restore the values ​​of meritocracy, professionalism, impartiality and devotion to duty and promote a modern police model in form and content.

In this context, we will redimension the rank system aiming at the consolidation of career and rank per function.

We will fundamentally reform the education and continuous training system for State Police employees, with the aim of diversifying the human capacities of the State Police and adapting to the steps of social and cultural development of the country ours. Continuous training will be a fundamental element for the promotion and career of Police employees.

Our government will improve the management of support resources to improve working conditions, service technology, as well as financial management, in order to motivate and increase the performance of the State Police service.

The Government commits to review the financial treatment and basic salaries of Police officers and will examine the effectiveness of using differentiated pay for officers who achieve high results in the fight against crime.

Revaluing the humane and solidarity dimension of the State Police as an institution, the government will THE RULE OF LAW AND DEMOCRATIZATION OF SOCIETY guarantee special state care for the families of Police officers who lost their lives in head of duty.

The government will restore the relationship of mutual trust and cooperation between the State Police and the independent constitutional institutions that have a key role in the fight against crime, especially the Prosecutor’s Office, the State Information Service and the judicial system, by reviewing the common framework of coordinating acts and the cooperation with the joint units of the fight against trafficking, organized crime and terrorism.

The government is committed to open, broad and in good faith cooperation with international partners and police agencies of the countries of the region and the EU to increase efficiency in the investigation and crackdown on cross-border crime and organized crime; to coordinate work in the field of police training, and to benefit from their assistance in the development of technology and infrastructure.

The government will guarantee full transparency for citizens and the media regarding the State Police’s activities.

We will expand, modernize and improve communication and cooperation with the media to create for them the opportunities due to them by law, to monitor the work of the government to prevent, investigate and punish crimes , as well as to contribute to the consolidation of the law enforcement culture in Albania.