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Albania: Structure and location of the police force; whether regional police forces share information with each other; procedure for filing a complaint with police; responsiveness of police to complaints (January - September 2006)

Structure of the police

In July 2006 correspondence sent to the Research Directorate, the Justice and Home Affairs Coordinator of the European Commission delegation to Albania indicated that the Albanian State Police (ASP) is a centralized police force that functions under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Interior (EU 13 July 2006). The Ministry of Interior was established in September 2005 when the Ministry of Public Order and the Ministry of Local Government and Decentralization merged (ibid.). The ASP has twelve regional police directorates, each of which administers at least one police commissariat (ibid.). Each police commissariat oversees several police stations and police border crossing posts (ibid.).

As of 2006, the ASP was undergoing structural reorganization (ibid.), including the dismissal of 1,500 police officers from the 12,000-officer police force (Korrieri 23 Mar. 2006; Professor of History 13 June 2006; see also US 8 Mar. 2006, Sec. 1.d).

In its 2005 Progress Report on Albania, the European Commission stated that, as part of the restructuring of the ASP in September 2004, an Organized Crime Directorate was created and the Internal Control Office was strengthened, thereby moving it closer to European Union (EU) standards (EU 9 Nov. 2005, 60). In its review of the ASP, the European Commission concluded that

[o]verall, the Albanian State Police has made progress in adopting a potentially more effective structure with improved internal regulation mechanisms and better results in fighting internal corruption. However, Albania has considerable room for improvement in legislation, management, infrastructure and international co-operation related to police work (ibid., 61).

Location of police

The ASP's jurisdiction extends throughout the territory of Albania (EU 13 July 2006; Professor of History 13 June 2006; Canada 12 June 2006; CNR 18 June 2006). However, police stations do not exist in all villages (Professor of History 13 June 2006). An official with the Embassy of Canada in Rome who recently visited Albania informed the Research Directorate that small towns without their own police station are supervised by the nearest police station (Canada 12 June 2006). Another official working at the same Embassy explained that there are four police stations in Tirana as well as police stations in the following towns: Berat, Durres, Elbasan, Fier, Gjirokaster, Kavaje, Korca, Kruja, Laci, Lushnja, Shijak, Shkodra and Vlora (ibid. 14 June 2006).

The United Nations Development Programme built five police stations in Albania and additional stations were under construction in 2006 (UN 10 Apr. 2006; see also Albanian News Digest 10 May 2006).

Information sharing

According to the Justice and Home Affairs Coordinator, in 2006, the European Union and the United States were financing a project to computerize and centralize information collected by police stations in Albania (EU 13 July 2006). The project aims to install a central data processing centre at the ASP headquarters in Tirana that would be connected to all police commissariats, police directorates, police stations, and border posts (ibid.). This network would be separate from other telecommunication networks in Albania (ibid.).

Several sources reported that police stations exchange pertinent information with each other and with the headquarters in Tirana (EU 13 July 2006; Professor of History 14 June 2006; Canada 12 June 2006; CNR 18 June 2006), including information on wanted people (ibid.). According to the Official from the Embassy of Canada in Rome, the police headquarters in Tirana verify information with police stations or the prosecutor's office (Canada 14 Feb. 2006). The Official added that each police commissariat collects information from local police stations (ibid. 12 June 2006).

A representative of the European Commission explained that police offices share information by means of electronic mail, fax machines, radios, regular mail and telephones (EU 13 July 2006), although the Official with the Canadian Embassy in Rome noted that not all police stations have a fax machine (Canada 12 June 2006).

Filing a complaint

Albanian citizens may lodge a complaint by appearing at the nearest police station or by telephoning the police hotline by dialling 219 (EU 13 July 2006). If the police deem it necessary, they will begin an investigation into the complaint (Professor of History 14 June 2006).

According to a representative of the Committee for Nationwide Reconciliation (CNR), a Tirana-based non-governmental organization (NGO) which aims to settle blood feuds through mediation, most people do not file complaints with the police in Albania (18 June 2006). This information was corroborated by a Professor of History at Indiana University, who is considered an expert witness in political asylum cases from the Balkans and who has authored several publications on twentieth-century Albanian history (14 June 2006). The Professor explained that generally Albanians do not file complaints with the police for lack of trust in the institution, and because they do not expect a reasonable resolution of their complaint (Professor of History 14 June 2006). According to the Representative of the CNR, many Albanians believe that filing a report with the police could incur graver consequences than remaining silent (CNR 18 June 2006). In addition, many Albanians reportedly consider private solutions more honourable than public ones (ibid.).

Police responsiveness

The Justice and Home Affairs Coordinator of the European Commission delegation to Albania stated in correspondence to the Research Directorate that the responsiveness of Albanian police to complaints is generally good (EU 13 July 2006). This contrasts with Amnesty International's assessment that police investigations into complaints failed to live up to "prompt, thorough and impartial" standards (AI 20 Sept. 2005). Similarly, Albanian police have been described by several governmental and media sources as being unprofessional, corrupt and insufficiently trained (EU 13 July 2006; ATA 23 May 2006; AFP 29 Apr. 2005; US 8 Mar. 2006, Sec. 1.d). However, Amnesty International (AI) noted that, in 2005, some police officers were prosecuted or disciplined in cases where investigations into complaints were "delayed or inconclusive" (23 May 2006). According to the 2005 Progress Report on Albania, the European Commission noted that a significant number of police officers were dismissed between 2004 and 2005 and the number of criminal proceedings brought against the police rose from 190 in 2003 to 323 in 2004 (EU 9 Nov. 2005).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Agence France-Presse (AFP). 29 April 2005. "Albania to Investigate Police Sex-scam Claims." (Factiva)

Albanian News Digest. 10 May 2006. "Tirana Opens Police Inspectorate." (Factiva)

Albanian Telegraphic Agency (ATA). 23 May 2006. "Police Workers in Tepelene Arrested on Charges of Corruption." (Factiva)

Amnesty International (AI). 23 May 2006. "Albania." Amnesty International Report 2006. (EUR 01/012/2005) <http://web.amnesty.org/shop/index/ISBN_0-86210-395-9> [Accessed 7 June 2006]
_____. 20 September 2005. "Amnesty International's Statements to the 2005 OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting." (IOR 30/014/2005) <http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGIOR300142005?open&of=ENG-ALB> [Accessed 6 June 2006]

Canada. 14 June 2006. Embassy of Canada in Rome. Correspondence from a Migration Integrity Officer.
_____. 12 June 2006. Embassy of Canada in Rome. Correspondence from a Migration Integrity Assistant.
_____. 14 February 2006. Embassy of Canada in Rome. Correspondence sent by a Migration Integrity Officer.

Committee for Nationwide Reconciliation (CNR). 18 June 2006. Correspondence from a representative.

European Union (EU). 13 July 2006. European Commission (EC), Albania. Correspondence from the Justice and Home Affairs Coordinator.
_____. 9 November 2005. European Commission (EC). Albania: 2005 Progress Report. <http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/archives/pdf/key_documents/2005/package/sec_1421_final_progress_report_al_en.pdf> [Accessed 15 Sept. 2006]

Korrieri [Tirana, in Albanian]. 23 March 2006. "New Structure: 1,500 Policemen Dismissed." (BBC Monitoring European/Factiva)

Professor of History, Indiana University. 14 June 2006. Telephone interview.

United Nations (UN). 10 April 2006. UN Development Programme (UNDP). "UNDP Administrator Visits Reconstructed Police Station No. 3 in Tirana, Discusses Importance of Security in Development." <http://www.undp.org.al/?pro,,163> [Accessed 7 July 2006]

United States (US). 8 March 2006. Department of State. "Albania." Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2005. <http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61633.htm> [Accessed 6 June 2006]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources, including: Albanian Human Rights Group; Centre for Russian and East European Studies, University of Toronto; Embassy of the Republic of Albania, Ottawa; Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE); Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).

Internet sites, including: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC); European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI); Freedom House; Human Rights Watch (HRW); International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF); Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL); Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR); U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI).