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Albania
Security Forces
Until April 1991, all security and police forces were responsible
to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which also exercised authority
over the judicial system and the implementation and enforcement
of the country's laws. In January 1991, the minister of internal
affairs, Simon Stefani, held both high communist party and government
posts as a member of the Politburo and as one of three deputy
prime ministers.
Each security or police organization--the Sigurimi, the Frontier
Guards, and the People's Police--constituted a separate directorate
within the ministry; each had a larger proportion of personnel
who were party members than the armed forces because of the need
for political reliability. In the Sigurimi, for example, nearly
all serving personnel were believed to be party members. In the
Frontier Guards and People's Police, all officers and many other
personnel were party members.
The Sigurimi were the security police forces. Organized to protect
the party and government system, these forces were responsible
for suppressing deviation from communist ideology and for investigating
serious crimes on a national scale. Frontier Guards, as their
name implied, maintained the security of state borders. The People's
Police were the local or municipal police.
In April 1991, shortly after the country's first free elections,
the communist-dominated People's Assembly abolished the Ministry
of Internal Affairs. It was replaced by a new Ministry of Public
Order with authority over the People's Police. In addition, the
chairman of a new National Security Committee within the Council
of Ministers was given control over the Sigurimi. Both organizations,
however, were headed by the same officials who had directed them
within the old Ministry of Internal Affairs.
In July 1991, the communist-dominated legislature abolished the
Sigurimi and established a new National Information Service (NIS)
in its place. It was unclear to Western observers to what extent
the new organization would be different from its muchhated predecessor
because at least some of its personnel probably had served in
the Sigurimi. Only former Sigurimi leaders were excluded from
the new NIS. Opponents of the Sigurimi argued that former officers
should not be rehired but replaced with new, untainted government
employees. The officers, however, argued that the new organization
needed experienced investigators who had not violated existing
laws or abused their power as Sigurimi officers.
The NIS's stated mission was to enforce the constitution and
laws of Albania and the civil rights of its citizens. It was forbidden
to conduct unauthorized investigations, and it was required to
respect the rights of citizens in every case except instances
in which the constitution itself had been violated. Political
activities within the NIS were banned.
In 1991 the rate of reported homicides doubled and robberies
tripled over the similar period in 1990. Instances of illegal
possession and use of firearms were reported. The increase in
violent crime was viewed so seriously that some citizens believed
that social anarchy was overwhelming the state's ability to handle
it. The end of the party's monopoly on political power and the
curbing of the coercive power of the state's law enforcement mechanism
gave many common criminals courage to act. The minister of public
order cited a general breakdown in law enforcement and public
safety in Albania in 1991. He reported that many crimes were being
committed by unemployed individuals, common criminals inadvertently
released from prison under political amnesties, and citizens taking
revenge on officials of the former communist regime. He blamed
many problems of the police on their former cooperation with the
Sigurimi in its role of protecting the party and state against
the citizens. According to the minister, the police would be depoliticized,
and patriotic, legal, and professional training would replace
their former political indoctrination.
When the People's Assembly established the Ministry of Public
Order, it placed the Frontier Guards and the Directorate of Prison
Administration, both of which had been in the Ministry of Internal
Affairs, in the Ministry of People's Defense and the Ministry
Justice, respectively. Shortly thereafter, in an effort to stem
the flow of Albanian refugees and growing problems with drug trafficking
through Albanian territory, Italy signed a cooperation agreement
with Albania under which it would help train and equip the demoralized
police and Frontier Guards. Albania sought similar assistance
from Finland and Romania and applied to join the International
Police Organization (Interpol). The head of the Directorate of
Prison Administration pledged to improve physical conditions in
Albania's prisons, to terminate routine detention of minors with
adults, and to introduce corrective, educational, and recreational
programs.
The Directorate of Law and Order, the Directorate of Criminal
Police, and the Directorate of Forces for the Restoration of Order--the
latter presumably being special riot control units-- remained
under the control of the Ministry of Public Order. In defense
of his decision not to reorganize, the minister of public order
cited difficulties in attempting to restructure the police force
when crime was increasing rapidly. He also noted that planned
cutbacks would reduce police personnel by 30 percent. Many Albanians,
however, blamed years of communist dictatorship and poverty for
allowing economic conditions to deteriorate to the point where
the system collapsed in a crime wave and local disorder. Some
citizens believed that they needed the right to carry arms as
protection against increasing violent crime and social anarchy.
Data as of April 1992
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