State Police (Albania)

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.

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	Gendarmerie (1925–1939) People's Police (1945–1991)
Employees	~ 10,958
Jurisdictional structure
National agency	Albania
Operations jurisdiction	Albania
Size	28,748 km2
Population	2,402,113
Governing body	Government of Albania
Constituting instrument	Law on "State Police"
General nature	Local civilian police
Operational structure
Overseen by	Ministry of Internal Affairs
Headquarters	Bajram Curri Boulevard, Tirana
Minister responsible	Ervin Hoxha, Minister
Agency executive	Ilir Proda, Director General
Website
asp.gov.al

History

The original Albanian Police was founded on 13 January 1913 by the government of Ismail Qemali, Albania's first prime minister.

The crisis of 1997

Main article: Albanian Rebellion of 1997

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, 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, 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.

Riot police in 1997 in Albania

The resulting anarchy led a number of nations to use military forces to evacuate citizens, 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, 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.

Public Perception

Building of the Albanian State Police Headquarters in Tiranë

According to a survey produced in 2009 for the United States Agency for International Development Albanian's perception of the police was as follows:

• On a scale of 0–100 with 0 being Very Honest and 100 being Very Corrupt, Policemen were given a score of 63.1 points
• When asked to what extent the police help to fight corruption, 0 being Not at All and 100 being Helps a Lot, the Police were given a score of 45.5
• When asked about trust in institutions, 0 being No Trust at All and 100 being Trust a Lot, the Police were given a score of 47.8
• When asked if during the previous year they had been asked for a bribe 7.8% said Yes
• "When asked how they were treated by the police, the proportion of respondents that replied "Poorly" or "Very poorly" was 26.6%, a decrease of 10.9 percentage points from 37.5% in 2005"

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.

Recent Developments

From 2014 to 2016, the Albanian State Police conducted several operations in criminally active regions, such as Lazarat, to restore public confidence and encourage support for law enforcement actions. In June 2014, approximately 800 police officers raided Lazarat, a village notorious for large-scale cannabis cultivation, seizing over 10 tonnes of marijuana.

During this period, body cameras became an integral tool for the police, extensively used in drug busts and high-profile operations. In February 2016, cameras were installed in police uniforms in Albania to improve police behavior and deter bribery. However, the initiative to use body cameras began to decline due to high operating and maintenance costs, as well as time constraints, ultimately leading to their discontinuation for field officers.

In response to ongoing challenges, the Ministry of Interior introduced the Public Order Strategy 2015–2020, accompanied by the Action Plan 2015–2017. This comprehensive strategy aimed to modernize the Albanian State Police and align it with European Union standards. Key objectives included enhancing transparency and accountability, improving infrastructure, integrating advanced technologies into police operations, and fostering partnerships between the police and the public through community policing initiatives.

The 2020s marked significant advancements in the operations of the Albanian State Police, particularly in tourism management. Between 2022 and 2024, the Border & Migration Department, especially the Border & Migration Police Team stationed at Tirana International Airport, effectively managed an annual influx of 7 to 12 million tourists entering the country. This accomplishment highlighted the department’s efficiency and contribution to Albania’s growing tourism sector.

Ranks of the State Police

In 2015, the State Police underwent reorganizational reforms which were expected to continue for several years. It implemented a new hierarchical structure composed of nine hierarchic ranks.

	Director				Commissioner
Albanian Police
	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

Pre-2015 ranks

	Rank insignia of the Albanian State Police 1991-2014
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

Branches of the State Police

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 equipment

Albanian State Police has a lot Communist era equipment still left in storage, which some are still in use today. However, since 2014 the Ministry of Interior has been actively modernizing the State Police's uniforms, vehicles and weaponry, introducing newer modern equipment to replace their Communist era equipment.

Uniforms

The Albanian State Police uniforms have undergone several changes since 1991.

Weaponry

Since 2017 Government of Albania has been contracting with multiple countries, purchasing brand new weapons to replace their old Communist era weapons. The listed weaponry of ASP below, shows all of the Weapons used and currently used by ASP since 2010.

Weapon	Origin	Status
TT-33	Soviet Union	Out of Service
Makarov PM	Soviet Union	Out of Service
Glock 17	Austria	In-Service
Beretta 92	Italy	In-Service
Beretta PX4 Storm	Italy	In-Service
Beretta APX	Italy	In-Service
Heckler & Koch MP5	Germany	In-Service
Heckler & Koch UMP	Germany	In-Service
Heckler & Koch MP7	Germany	In-Service
AKM	Soviet Union	In-Service
ASh-82	Albania	In-Service
Beretta ARX 160	Italy	In-Service
HS Produkt VHS	Croatia	In-Service
Heckler & Koch G36	Germany	In-Service
Heckler & Koch HK417	Germany	In-Service
Sako TRG M10	Finland	In-Service
Sako TRG-42	Finland	In-Service
RPK machine gun	Soviet Union	In-Service
RPD machine gun	Soviet Union	In-Service

Vehicles

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.

Vehicle	Type	Country	Status
Aprilia RS660	Motorcycle	Italy	In-Service
Ford Focus	Car	United States	In-Service
Ford Transit Custom	Mini-Van	United States	In-Service
Chevrolet Aveo	Car	United States	Out of Service
Volkswagen e-Golf	Car	Germany	In-Service
Volkswagen Transporter	Van	Germany	In-Service
Hyundai Accent	Car	Japan	Out of Service
Hyundai Santa Fe	Car	Japan	In-Service
Hyundai i800	Van	Japan	In-Service
Hyundai Kona	Car	Japan	In-Service
Hyundai Tucson	Car	Japan	In-Service
Dacia Sandero	Car	France	Out of Service
BMW 5 Series	Car	Germany	In-Service
BMW R 1250 RT	Motorcycle	Germany	In-Service
Mercedes-Benz GLC 63 Coupe	Car	Germany	In-Service
Mercedes-Benz E-Class	Car	Germany	In-Service
Mercedes-Benz GLA	Car	Germany	In-Service
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter	Van	Germany	In-Service
Audi A6	Car	Germany	In-Service
Škoda Octavia	Car	Czech Republic	In-Service
Iveco VM 90	Utility Vehicle	Italy	In-Service
Land Rover Defender 4x4	Utility Vehicle	United Kingdom	In-Service
Land Rover Discovery	Car	United Kingdom	In-Service
Mil Mi-8	Helicopter	Soviet Union	In-Service
Bell 212	Helicopter	United States	In-Service
AS350B	Helicopter	France	In-Service
Zodiac Nautic	Boat	France	In-Service

Official Directors of Albanian State Police since 1913

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	5 September 2024
45	Ilir Proda	2 October 2024	Incumbent

See also

• Law enforcement in Albania
• General Directorate of Civil Emergencies
• Sigurimi
• Albanian police raids MEK camps