Albanian State Police Policia e Shtetit Shqiptar | |
---|---|
![]() Patch of the State Police | |
![]() Flag of the State Police | |
Common name | Policia |
Agency overview | |
Formed | 13 January 1913 |
Preceding agency |
|
Employees | ~ 10,958 [1] [2] |
Jurisdictional structure | |
National agency | Albania |
Operations jurisdiction | Albania |
Size | 28,748 km2 |
Population | 2,793,592 |
Governing body | Government of Albania |
Constituting instrument |
|
General nature | |
Operational structure | |
Overseen by | Ministry of Internal Affairs |
Headquarters | Bajram Curri Boulevard, Tirana |
Minister responsible |
|
Agency executive |
|
Website | |
asp |
The Albanian State Police (Albanian : Policia e Shtetit) is the national police and law enforcement agency which operates throughout the Republic of Albania. The collapse of the Communist system and the establishment of political pluralism post-1991 brought important changes to the structure of the Albanian Police. The Ministry of Public Order and the General Directorate of Police were established in April 1991, and the new law of July 1991 established the Public Order Police. Nearly 80% of police manpower, i.e. personnel who had served under the previous system, were replaced by new recruits. On 4 November 1991, the Albanian Police was accepted as a member of Interpol.
The emergency number is 129 or 112 for Various Matters.
The original Albanian Police was founded on 13 January 1913 by the government of Ismail Qemali, Albania's first prime minister. [3]
Following the collapse of the Albanian economy in January–February 1997 in the wake of the implosion of the Ponzi pyramid banking schemes promoted by the government, [4] increasing insurgency in early March led to the Police and Republican Guard deserting en masse because it became clear they were unlikely to be paid, leaving their armouries unlocked, [5] which were promptly looted by parties unknown, believed to mostly have been the local crime bodies and self-appointed militias: many of the weapons eventually surfaced in the ethnic fighting in Kosovo.
The resulting anarchy led a number of nations to use military forces to evacuate citizens, [6] [7] culminating in the UN authorising Operation Alba ("Daybreak"), a short-term military stabilisation force led by the Italian Army, tasked with facilitating the repatriation of foreigners and laying the foundations for another International Organisation to undertake the longer-term restabilisation. The political debate eventually settled in Europe within the body responsible for the defence diplomatic coordination of the Continent, the Council of the Western European Union. In a 2-hour meeting which convened at 1400 hrs on 2 May 1997, [8] the WEU Council decided on the immediate establishment of the Multinational Advisory Police Element, sending a pathfinder officer, a Norwegian Police Colonel, the same evening. The Italian force in Operation Alba predicated the Command structure of MAPE passing into the Italian Carabinieri, General Pietro Pistolese, previously commanding the Genoa region, bringing his team with him. Four phases followed, assessment, reconstruction, support of the Albanian Police control during the Kosovo Crisis, and finally build-down and handback in early 2001, which was somewhat accelerated ahead of the transfer of the WEU's operational responsibilities to the Council of the EU on 30 June 2001. The reconstruction principally involved the reconstruction of the Judicial system and the training of Police, but the Finance section also accommodated economic specialists acting as the principal feedback into the correction of the Judicial system. The Command Team later formed the core of the European Union Border Assistance Mission Rafah from 2005 onwards.
According to a survey produced in 2009 for the United States Agency for International Development Albanian's perception of the police was as follows: [9]
Given that this was within eight years of the departure of the MAPE rebuilding mission, great concern must be expressed about the capacity of the police force to maintain the legal norms required of an aspirant EU State.
In 2014, the Ministry of Internal Affairs started a modernization process of the Albanian police, to modernize its equipment and methods. The first step was the acquisition of new police vans and cruisers, the next one was the installment of body cameras on police officers to improve their service and to be analysed after an operation. Uniforms of the every uniformed department of the Albanian police were overhauled and the logo was also changed.[ citation needed ]
Several operations were held from the years 2014 to 2016, in various criminally active regions of Albania (i.e. Lazarat) to restore confidence and belief of the Albanian public to support the actions of police. Body cameras are becoming an integral part of the Albanian police, used on various drug busts and high-profile operations, released afterwards to the public.[ citation needed ]
In 2015, the State Police underwent reorganizational reforms which were expected to continue for several years. [10] It implemented a new hierarchical structure composed of nine hierarchic ranks. [11] [12]
Director | Commissioner | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() |
![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | |
Chief director Drejtues Madhor | Senior director Drejtues i Lartë | First director Drejtues i Parë | Director Drejtues | Chief commissioner Kryekomisar | Commissioner Komisar | Sub- commissioner Nënkomisar | Inspector Inspektor | Cadet Kursantë |
Rank insignia of the Albanian State Police 1991-2014 [13] | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Uniform | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Rank: | First Director Drejtues i Parë | Director Drejtues | Chief Commissioner Kryekomisar | Commissioner Komisar | Lieutenant Commissioner Komisar toger | Chief Inspector Kryeinspektor | Inspector Inspektor | Lieutenant Inspector Inspektor toger | Chief Assistant Kryeasistent | First Assistant Asistent i parë | Assistant Asistent | First Agent Agjent i parë | Agent Agjent |
Patch | Branch unit |
---|---|
![]() | Policia e Rendit The Order Police is tasked to deal with issues of Public Order, assist and help local population. |
![]() | Policia Kufitare dhe Migracionit The Border Police is in charge of migration and border control. |
![]() | Policia Rrugore The Road Police administers road safety and Enforces Traffic Regulations. |
![]() | FNSH The Rapid Intervention Force is the quick intervention unit dealing mostly with cases of violent riots, special operations, etc. |
![]() | Shqiponjat The Eagles are a rapid intervention unit that handles domestic criminal activities. |
![]() | RENEA The Department of Neutralization of Armed Elements is the main counter-terrorism and critical incident response unit. |
DFPO Directorate of the Special Operational Force is the main Criminal Police Special Force similar to RENEA. |
Albanian State Police has much Communist era equipment left in its storage, still in use today. However, since 2014 ASP (Albanian State Police) has been modernizing its uniforms, vehicles and weapons, introducing newer Western equipment to replace their Soviet era equipment.
The Albanian State Police uniforms have undergone several changes since 1991. Some visible changes are:
Since 2017 Government of Albania has been contracting with multiple countries, purchasing brand new weapons to replace their old Communist era weapons.
Plenty of vehicles have been bought from the Albanian Government, what is most surprising is the diversity when purchasing vehicles. While many police forces around the world, usually tend to stick with 2-3 car brands in their fleets, Albania has been known to have numerous car brands in their police fleets, with the most popular car brand being Hyundai. Here is a full list of the vehicles used and currently used by Albanian State Police since 2010:
No. | Name | Term in office | |
1 | Halim Gostivari | 13 January 1913 | 24 May 1913 |
2 | Fehim Mezhgorani | 24 May 1913 | 30 January 1914 |
3 | Hil Mosi | 1 February 1914 | 30 March 1914 |
4 | Veli Vasjari | 1 April 1914 | 30 June 1914 |
5 | Sulejman Kërçiku | 2 October 1914 | 27 January 1916 |
– | Halim Gostivari | 28 August 1919 | 17 December 1920 |
6 | Ahmet Sinani | 17 December 1920 | 10 January 1922 |
– | Veli Vasjari | 11 January 1922 | 22 April 1922 |
– | Halim Gostivari | 22 April 1922 | 21 August 1922 |
7 | Musa Çelepia | 21 August 1922 | 26 December 1922 |
8 | Hamza Isaraj | 10 December 1924 | 25 December 1924 |
9 | Qazim Bodinaku | 24 February 1926 | 7 July 1926 |
10 | Rustem Ymeri | 20 December 1926 | 1927 |
– | Hil Mosi | 3 September 1928 | 1929 |
11 | Zef Kadarja | 31 August 1940 | 23 March 1942 |
12 | Theodor Stamati | 24 March 1942 | 26 November 1942 |
13 | Shyqyri Borshi | 26 November 1942 | 4 June 1943 |
14 | Gjush Deda | 4 June 1943 | 30 August 1943 |
15 | Kolë Radovani | 1 September 1943 | 13 October 1943 |
16 | Skënder Selmanaj | 15 October 1943 | 10 January 1944 |
17 | Tahir Kolgjini | 10 January 1944 | 24 November 1944 |
18 | Namik Xhafa | 24 November 1944 | 20 March 1947 |
19 | Lako Polena | 24 March 1947 | 2 February 1948 |
20 | Sali Ormeni | 16 February 1948 | 2 March 1951 |
21 | Maqo Çomo | 2 March 1951 | March 1952 |
22 | Delo Balili | March 1952 | 1 May 1956 |
23 | Xhule Çiraku | 1 May 1956 | February 1968 |
24 | Kasëm Kaso | February 1968 | January 1980 |
25 | Agron Tafa | January 1980 | August 1982 |
– | Kasëm Kaso | August 1982 | 31 December 1984 |
26 | Dilaver Bengasi | 1 January 1987 | 17 July 1990 |
27 | Pandeli Lluka | 17 July 1990 | 1 May 1992 |
28 | Astrit Mehaj | 1 May 1992 | 22 June 1993 |
29 | Sabri Jacaj | 22 June 1993 | 15 June 1995 |
30 | Agim Shehu | 15 June 1995 | 30 June 1997 |
31 | Sokol Baraj | 3 July 1997 | 16 May 1998 |
32 | Besnik Bregu | 16 May 1998 | 4 September 1998 |
33 | Hasan Ahmetaj | 4 September 1998 | 9 November 1998 |
34 | Veton Gjoliku | 9 November 1998 | 20 January 1999 |
35 | Veli Myftari | 20 January 1999 | 22 November 2000 |
36 | Bilbil Mema | 23 November 2000 | 19 August 2002 |
37 | Bajram Ibraj | 12 September 2002 | 30 March 2007 |
38 | Ahmet Prençi | 30 March 2007 | 28 October 2009 |
39 | Hysni Burgaj | 28 October 2009 | 9 September 2013 |
40 | Artan Didi | 10 October 2013 | 31 March 2015 |
41 | Haki Çako | 15 April 2015 | 8 January 2018 |
42 | Ardi Veliu | 5 February 2018 | 8 October 2021 |
43 | Gledis Nano | 8 October 2021 | 31 August 2022 |
44 | Muhamet Rrumbullaku | 8 September 2022 | Incumbent |
The Albanian Armed Forces are the military of Albania and were formed after the declaration of independence in 1912. Today, it consists of the General Staff, the Albanian Land Force, Albanian Air Force and the Albanian Naval Force.
The Mossos d'Esquadra, also known as the Policia de la Generalitat de Catalunya and informally as Mossos, is the autonomous police force in Catalonia. They trace their origins back to squads formed in 1719.
The Heckler & KochP7 is a German 9×19mm semi-automatic pistol designed by Helmut Weldle and produced from 1979 to 2008 by Heckler & Koch GmbH (H&K). The P7M13, a variant of the P7 with a double-stack magazine, was produced until 2000.
The Department of Neutralization of Armed Elements commonly known by its acronym RENEA, is the main Albanian counter-terrorist and critical incident response unit. The force was constituted in the early 1990s in response to the growing crime levels in the country after the fall of communism. RENEA's responsibilities are rescue operations, hostage situations, counter-terrorism and response to particularly violent forms of crime. Since 1990, the unit has lost four men in action and more than forty wounded. Their skills are highly regarded and well thought-of inside Albania and in the West, they are reported to have one of the highest OPTEMPOs in all of Europe and they have been trained by GSG 9.
The Nucleo Operativo Centrale di Sicurezza(NOCS) (English: Central Security Task Group) is the police tactical unit of the Polizia di Stato, one of Italy's national police forces. It operates under the command of the Direzione Centrale della Polizia di Prevenzione (English: Central Directorate for the Anti-Terrorism Police).
COMSUBIN is the Italian Navy's special operations unit. Italy was the first nation to use frogmen and human torpedoes. The Royal Italian Navy's Naval Assault Divisions are considered to be the precursor of modern Naval Special Forces. Their record can be traced back to World War I and the operation against the Austrian-Hungarian Battleship Viribus Unitis in Pula Harbour in 1918.
Beredskapstroppen, callsign "Delta", is the police tactical unit of the Norwegian Police Service. Its members are trained to perform dangerous operations such as high-risk arrests and hostage situations. It is organizationally part of Oslo Police District, but is responsible for the whole country, including oil installations in the North Sea.
The Counter-terrorism Rapid Response, formed in 1983, is a special police unit of Italy's Guardia di Finanza. It is tasked with counter-terrorism operations and the protection of VIPs and places of interest in the country. The ATPI has also participated in operations in Albania, Kosovo, and Hungary.
In Iceland, the Police is the national police force of Iceland. It is responsible for law enforcement throughout the country, except in Icelandic territorial waters which fall under the jurisdiction of the Icelandic Coast Guard. Police affairs in Iceland are the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice and are administered by the Office of the National Commissioner of the Police on behalf of the ministry. The organisation is divided into nine districts, the largest being the Reykjavík Metropolitan Police, which is responsible for the Capital Region and its total population of around 208,000 people.
The Slovenian National Police Force is the national government agency that handles the responsibility of law enforcement of the Republic of Slovenia. It is composed of the eight police directorates in Celje, Koper, Kranj, Ljubljana, Maribor, Murska Sobota, Nova Gorica, and Novo Mesto. Law enforcement in Slovenia is governed by the Slovenian Ministry of Internal Affairs. The police force maintains a number of international partnerships with foreign police forces, including training with the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation, and involvement in Albania and Kosovo with the Multinational Advisory Police Element. The Slovenian police force was admitted to Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe on March 24, 1992.
The Special Anti-Terrorist Unit, is an elite tactical unit of the Serbian Police.
The Federal Police is the national and principal law enforcement agency of Austria. The Federal Police was formed in July 2005 as one formal unit of police. In 2005, the Federal Police replaced the Austrian Federal Gendarmerie, which policed most of the country, and the Polizei which policed Austria’s major urban centres such as Vienna, Salzburg and Graz. The Federal Police also serves as Austria’s border control agency. The Federal Police works in partnership with the 19 municipal police agencies and other law enforcement agencies in Austria.
The Police of the Czech Republic is the national law enforcement agency of the Czech Republic. It was established on 15 July 1991 under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior. The agency is tasked with protecting citizens, property and public order and as of 2015, there were around 40,500 employees. Czech state police cooperates with municipal police departments, which are present in local municipalities.
The 17th Raiders Wing is the Italian Air Force special forces unit. It is the youngest special force created in Italy. It is based in Furbara, near Rome and part of the Comando interforze per le Operazioni delle Forze Speciali. Until 8 April 2008 the unit was named Reparto Incursori Aeronautica Militare but with the expansion and evolution of the unit's assignments and its size, the name was changed to "17° Stormo Incursori".
The Rapid Response Unit (URNA) is a police tactical unit of the Police of the Czech Republic. It is under command of the Ministry of the Interior.
The Rendőrség is the national civil law enforcement agency of Hungary and is governed by the Interior Ministry. It was formerly established under the Hungarian People's Republic in 1955, formally known as the Magyar Népköztársaság Rendőrsége.
The Albanian Military Police is a provost independent branch of the Albanian Armed Forces responsible for the policing of service personnel, and for providing a military police presence both in Albania and while service personnel are deployed overseas on operations and exercises. The PU it is under the authority of Ministry of Defence. Its tasks increase during wartime to include traffic control organisation and POW and refugee control. The Military Police are distinguished from other units by their wearing of black uniform and the blue brassard worn around the left upper arm, with the "MP" lettering in white, symbol of military police.
The 116th Operational Maneuvers Regiment is a special forces regiment of the Algerian Land Forces.
The 104th Operational Maneuvers Regiment is a special forces regiment of the Algerian Land Forces, and is also a parachute regiment.