On the Role of Public Accountability Meetings of the “Triangle” 1 Police-Municipality-Prosecutor Office on Crime Prevention and Public Safety

ON THE ROLE OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY MEETINGS OF THE “TRIANGLE” 1 POLICE-MUNICIPALITY-PROSECUTOR OFFICE ON CRIME PREVENTION AND PUBLIC SAFETY

By: Sotiraq Hroni 2 August 2019

OVERVIEW

This policy paper seeks to promote a miss- objectives and the implementation of local ing experience in the collaboration among policing strategies, as instruments employed the police, the Prosecutor’s Office and local to tackle security challenges that confront self-government units in the prevention of citizens. Having acquired a broad support crime in Albania. It also reflects on practic- in local government structures, this paper es of preventive policing and legislation on argues that the practice of organizing public which the cooperation between local institu- accountability meetings may even prove tions is based. itself as a “game changer” with regard to the successful implementation of community Regular accountability meetings improve policing – one of the main objectives of the law enforcement at local level, enhance Albanian State Police. institutional communication with citizens, boost public trust, and increase the account- This policy paper highlights that the partici- ability of institutions. In addition, the process pation of the Prosecutor’s Office grants cred- of enhancing accountability helps to build ibility to the public communication process horizontal partnerships between the State and helps prevent crime. The visions of both Police and citizens and facilitates the coop- the State Police and General Prosecutor’s eration between the State Police and local Office are enshrined in their respective strat- self-government units. egies, but demand regulatory improvements in terms of cooperation, partnerships, and Accountability meetings impact the op- public accountability. The practice of holding erationalization of Local Safety Councils’ accountability meetings on crime prevention represents an innovation that deserves political and operational support from central 1. A local authority “triangle” is a consultative body that consists of the Mayor, the Public Prosecutor and local institutions. and the Police Chief in the Netherlands. Intended to tackle crime and issues of public safety more efficiently, the triangle holds regular consulta- tion meetings about issues at the local level. The current initiative of organizing “triangle” meetings in Albanian municipalities is an initiative to improve 2. Any views or opinions expressed in this article accountability and transparency based on the are those of the author and do not necessarily positive Dutch experience. The project is supported represent the views or opinions of the Government with a grant from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of of the Netherlands. the Netherlands. 1 BACKGROUND

Over the past decade, community policing practice by establishing Local Safety is increasingly put in the spotlight of pub- Councils (LSC).3 The institutionalization lic order and safety discourse. The Public of this practice is a positive development, Order Strategy 2015-2020 requires that the as it directly engages local government philosophy of community policing encom- and other institutions (such as educational passes the entire activity of the police orga- institutions, social welfare institutions, and nization. The Law on State Police stipulates non-governmental organizations) in public the design and implementation of a Local security issues. LSCs are not established Strategy on Regional Policing (LSRP). in all municipalities; hence, it is too early to assess the effectiveness of this structure. Community policing seems to be appealing Yet, a first analysis of the regulatory experi- to the country’s senior political leaders as ence of the establishment and operation of well, given that they are placing additional LSCs points towards an imbalance of efforts, emphasis on the concept and are repeatedly in which there is a lot invested in the creation calling upon citizens to collaborate with the of the council, but little in maintaining these police. structures operational. This issue should be addressed, as the experience of regional A considerable number of initiatives have countries underlines that there is a “need to given their contribution by producing a create an effective and operational model variety of cooperation experiences by insti- of LSCs, so that it does not remain a formal tutions at the local level. The International structure on paper.”4 Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP), have invested, among That there is currently a lack of effective others, in capacity building of local police multi-stakeholder collaboration is pointed structures to cooperate with schools in the out by a study on the Annual Strategy of Re- education process. Many national and inter- gional Policing, which analyzed 12 regional national initiatives such as the Strengthening police departments during 2009-2014. This Community Policing in Albania (SCPA) Pro- study finds that “… local strategies are similar gram, funded by the Government of Sweden, over the years and among regions, failing to focus more in awareness on cooperation adapt to social, cultural and environmental between the police and local institutions, background of the area.”5 Indeed, the study particularly the educational institutions. Civil highlights that “while the State Police and society and various local groups are part of local governance institutions have interacted these initiatives. PAMECA and OSCE have both formally and informally, this interaction also vested efforts in this direction. has not resulted in the involvement of these institutions in the design and implementa- Best practices in the fight against violent tion of Local Strategy on Regional Policing extremism, with which the State Police is fa- and in the creation of partnerships.”6 In this miliarized in its daily work and from various context, the model of accountability meet- trainings delivered by the international part- ners, constitute a valuable multi-stakeholder 3 Minister of Interior’s Order dated 5.3.2018 interactive approach. In this regard, the Insti- 4 Belgrade Center for Security Policy. Partnership tute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) has for Safe Communities in Serbia, 014, http://www. promoted, through the “School as a Commu- bezbednost.org/upload/document/partnership_ nity Center” approach, a multi-stakeholder for_safe_communities.pdf cooperation to support resilient communities 5 Institute for Democracy and Mediation. An where local institutions share responsibilities Assessment of the Strategy on Community and collaborate to prevent and fight violent Policing and Cooperation of State Police with extremism. Local governance Institutions, 2015, p. 5, http:// idmalbania.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/ Policimi-n%C3%AB-komunitet-n%C3%AB- Besides the abovementioned initiatives, Shqip%C3%ABri-2007_Shqip.pdf. municipalities are also embracing a new 6 Ibid.

2 ings on crime prevention, conducted over the important to first analyze the legal basis by last few months with the participation of the assessing its compliance with the strategic police, municipalities, and Prosecutor Office, vision of the development of these institu- have generally acquired an added value by tions. addressing the deficiencies identified above. These meetings provide a unique opportu- The Laws on State Police of 1991 and 1999 nity for bottom-top impact, and for building provided for more clarity in terms of relations on citizens’ challenges and perceptions on between the police and local self-govern- security and safety.7 Likewise, they also offer ment units, as well as in the relationship an excellent prospect to trigger a proactive between the police and the public. This response among all local actors, including is revealed in several instances, such as citizens. in Article 10 of the Law No. 7504, dated 30.07.1991, “On Public Order Police”, which determines that “the Public Order Police of the district reports to the Minister of Public Order and to the local government units for LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR duties assigned to it by law.” Article 50 of LOCAL INSTITUTIONS CO- this law states that “local government units are required to set to the disposal of the OPERATION public order police adequate premises for the organization and development of its activity.” According to a joint study conducted by IDM and IDRA in 2008, there was a lack of formal On the other hand, the Law No. 8553, relations between institutions at the local dated 25.11.1999, maintains the unitary and level. In fact, the study points out the preva- centralized character of the police, while lence of informal relations and “spontaneity stipulating that “[the] acts of the local gov- of relations among local-level institutions, ernments are compulsory for enforcement particularly between the police and local by the Police…” and that “before or after government units.”8 All respondents of the the establishment and the dismantle of the study, employed at the majority of institu- peripheral operative units of the Police and tions at the local level, “demanded legal and in cases of appointment of the directors of sublegal regulation or, at least, some sort of regional police or chief of commissariats, the memoranda of understanding on institutional competent authority will have a preliminary relationships and responsibilities to improve opinion of the respective local government local services for citizens.”9 unit. In cases of discontent by the local government, the respective authority makes Ten years later, a similar problem of ad the professional argumentation of the deci- hoc cooperation was identified in almost sion taken.” Furthermore, the law requires all accountability meetings, reflecting the from local senior officials of the police to interpersonal relations of the leaders of submit an annual report on issues of public these institutions.10 To address this issue, it is order and security to their respective local self-government units (article 59). 7 These accountability meetings were held in the framework of the “Building Integrity to Improve All these prerogatives of cooperation lay the Performance and Sustainability in the Fight against foundations for formal partnerships, which Corruption in the State Police in Albania” Project supported by a grant of the Ministry of Foreign consequently are better at supporting State Affairs of the Netherlands. Police’s present-day vision on community policing and coping with citizens ‘challenges 8 Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM) and the Institute for Development Research and to ensure public safety. Alternatives (IDRA), “Towards a Consolidated Col- laboration between Local governance and Central The term “community policing” was used Institutions at Local Level, 2008” https://www. for the first time in the Law No. 9749, dated osfa.al/sites/default/files/botimishqip.pdf

9 Ibid. ty-Accountability-Partnership” Bulletin, 2018 and 2019, http://idmalbania.org/newsletter-integri- 10 Institute for Democracy and Mediation, “Integri- ty-accountability-partnership-1/ 3 04.06.2007, “On State Police”, which the involvement of the Prosecutor Office. Its describes the contributing actors and ob- role in this local partnership is unique and an jectives for the design of a Local Strategy innovation that is based on its strategic doc- on Regional Policing. Yet, this law fails to es- ument: “in addition to its primary function of tablish the principles of formal partnerships exercising criminal prosecution and repre- among local institutions. A step forward to a senting the state in all matters related to the more active role of local actors is elaborated adjudication of criminal offenses, it organizes in Article 74 of the State Police Regulation11 and cooperates with state institutions and (adopted in pursuance of the Law No. 108, other public and private entities in activities dated 31.07.2014, “On the State Police”. This related to education of society with the final article requires a detailed evaluation of the goal of understanding the law and prevention “implementation of the local strategy and of crime.”12 To this regard, measures are fo- related action plan. Irrespective of this, both cused, among others, in information sharing versions of the State Police law (adopted in with the public and the media especially on 2007 and 2014 respectively) are unclear crime statistics ; awareness campaigns on with regards to the collaboration between disturbing crime, or other issues considered police and local governance institutions. of special importance by the local prosecutor. Other crosscutting collaborations among institutions at local level are regulated by sublegal acts. This includes the cooperation among relevant central government to boost collaboration on safety of schools, or the THE “TRIANGLE” OF Joint Order between the Ministry of Public POLICE-MUNICIPALITY- Order and the Ministry of Local Governance in year 2002. Inter alia, this cooperation PROSECUTOR OFFICE IN included biannual reporting of the chief PUBLIC ACCOUNTABILITY commissar and the regional police director to the municipal councils or regional councils MEETINGS respectively on crime situation. Between November 2018 and May 2019, Another normative act is the State Police local institutions (often municipalities)13 held General Director’s Order No. 407, “On Plan- the first series of public accountability meet- ning and Organization of Police Zone-Based ings14 with the participation of local council- Patrol of Police Commissariats”, which calls ors, administrators, heads of villages, local for an integrated approach to zone-based education leaders, boards of students and police patrol. Yet, there is no public evidence parents, non-governmental organizations, on its efficiency. Securing the police patrol and interested citizens. zones, particularly in urban areas, would be more efficient, had the municipality estab- The unanimous support demonstrated by lo- lished “representative community struc- cal leaders of the police, municipalities, and tures”. Unfortunately, this did not materialize prosecutor’s office showed that this platform until recently. The Law on Local Self-Gover- of communication with citizens is an oppor- nance (in Articles 68 and 69) has foreseen tunity for institutions to improve their public the establishment of community councils in small urban areas and related community 12 General Prosecutor Office, Midterm Strategy liaison. Fulfilling these requirements of the 2018-2020 and Action Plan, 2018, p. 15, http:// law on the part of the local self-government www.pp.gov.al/web/strategjia_pp_2018_2020_fi- nal_1357.pdf. units is a highly important instrument for empowering citizens and actively cooperat- 13 Public accountability meetings were held in Berat, ing with them. Pogradec, Kurbin, Korça, Peshkopi, Mat, Shkodra, Lushnje, Kavaja, Dropull, Selenica, Librazhd, Ad- ministrative Units No. 5 and 7 in Tirana, and Kamza The novelty of the “triangle” comes with 14 These accountability meetings were held with the 11 Council of Ministers’ Decision No. 750, dated support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the 16.9.2015, “On Adoption of State Police Regulation” Netherlands.

4 image, build trust and improve transparency. solution, and commitment of all stakeholders It also helps the development of joint inter- should become regular work practice of all vention plans to ensure public safety and institutions.” prevent crime. In a longer perspective, this local collaboration may also serve as a good In the Municipality of Selenica, participants basis for further interventions in preventing of an accountability meeting presented the organized crime through an administrative problems of cultivation of narcotic plants.17 approach.15 Civil society representatives and heads of local education in the Municipality of Po- IDM’s news bulletins ‘integrity, accountabil- gradec were very persistent to institutions ity and partnership’ provide detailed infor- with regard to prevention of use of drugs mation of the accountability meetings, which and other law enforcement issues. In this together offer a full account of the issues accountability meeting, the Police Commis- raised during the meetings. Hence, this sariat Chief attending the meeting appealed analysis will introduce a handful of examples to citizens to critically evaluate the work of that can be helpful and serve as models to the local police and other institutions.18 This the three local government branches in their practice was enthusiastically embraced in future efforts to meeting citizens’ expecta- the Municipality of Dropull as well. Commu- tions for public order and security. nity members supported this accountability meeting of the three institutions, adding that In an accountability meeting in Shkoder, “holding regular meetings would help to which was conducted on the initiative of the avoid various tensions” (making an implied mayor and local police chief, participants reference to the incidents of Bularat occur- agreed to hold discussions with heads of ring several months ago19). local education department and schools. By sitting together with citizens, the local In Korça, the head of the local Prosecutor government wanted to undertake a realistic commended the meeting saying that “this assessment of the situation on the use of type of open meetings would help to encour- narcotics in schools with the aim of investing age a greater cooperation between the pub- more efforts in preventing this phenome- lic and the prosecutor office.” 20This notion non.16 In the Municipality of Dibra, a local was shared by Dorina Bejko, a prosecutor of councilor appealed to the heads of local Pogradec, who pointed out that these meet- institutions to improve the communication ings were important to win public trust on the with citizens and to inform them regularly part of local law enforcement institutions and on the state of crime. In this very meeting, to enhance their responsibility. Activities like a representative of civil society declared this encourage citizens “to be more active that, irrespective of achievements publicized in the prevention process and to report on by local institutions, one can notice “many criminal offenders.”21 Furthermore, a pros- problems that remain highly disturbing and ecutor of Kavaja emphasized the need of with negative impact on people’s lives, particularly on the youth, such as violence and 17 Institute for Democracy and Mediation, Bulletin Nr. 3 “Integrity-Accountability-Partnership”, 2019, p. 6, use of narcotics.” According to them, “this http://idmalbania.org/download/6387/ means that things have not been solved ade- quately; hence, discussions, identification of 18 Institute for Democracy and Mediation, Bulletin Nr. 1 “Integrity-Accountability-Partnership”, 2018, p. 8, http://idmalbania.org/download/5684 15 The fight against organized crime requires an integrated approach in criminal, fiscal and admin- 19 Albanian Public Radio Television, Incident of istrative areas. Municipalities, the police, the Public Bularat, police: this is what happened, 28 October Prosecution Service and the Tax Authorities work 2018, https://www.rtsh.al/lajme/ngjarja-e-bulara- together on the basis of the Administrative Agree- tit-policia-sjell-dinamiken/ ment on Integrated Approach to Organized Crime. More on the Dutch model at https://www.riec.nl/ 20 Institute for Democracy and Mediation, Bulletin Nr. maatregelen-en-documenten/handboek-bestuurli- 1 “Integrity-Accountability-Partnership”, 2018, p. 8, jke-aanpak-georganiseerde-criminaliteit http://idmalbania.org/download/5684

16 Institute for Democracy and Mediation, Bulletin No. 21 Institute for Democracy and Mediation, Bulletin Nr. 2 “Integrity-Accountability-Partnership”, 2019, p. 7, 1 “Integrity-Accountability-Partnership”, 2018, p. 8, http://idmalbania.org/download/5875/ http://idmalbania.org/download/5684 5 institutionalizing a culture of direct account- role of LSCs 10 years from their establish- ability, not only in legal written form, but also ment in Serbia indicated that – like in Alba- through community accountability meetings. nia – much time was spent on the normative He reiterated that “this can be achieved by regulation of municipal safety councils, but holding regular meetings like this and by “what is lacking during this period is opera- formalizing them through some memoranda tionalization of these working bodies.”25 of understanding or cooperation.”22 In Kosovo, Municipal Community Safety Public accountability meetings also proved Councils (MCSCs) were established in year to be important for the Mayor and the 2009 and enjoyed a set of competences in Municipal Council, because they generate almost all communes of Kosovo. Similar to awareness on their responsibility for public Serbia, a monitoring report by the Kosovar security. A significant portion of security is- Centre for Security Studies on the efficien- sues is linked with the lack of competencies cy of these councils produced three major of the local self-government units (public findings: “there is a lack of risk and threat lighting, road signage, noise pollution, etc.). assessments at the local level; MCSCs have As the manager of public funds, the munic- been established in most municipalities, but ipality is in the position to improve safety at they do not always function; and the ma- these points. Furthermore, it helps shape jority of MCSCs are lacking citizen involve- a proactive agenda in the municipality. For ment.”26 example, in the Municipality of Shkoder, the State Police identified a number of “crime Public accountability meetings gear coop- hotspots” in the city. In order to deter crimi- eration to more institutional forms of com- nals and make these areas safer, the munic- munication. In Albania, like elsewhere in ipality installed several security cameras. the region, the experience shows that when This cooperation between the municipality municipal leaders and heads of police speak and the local police was a great example of of good collaboration, they mean personal implementing good practices developed in relations and meetings of these heads of the international literature on community institutions. A similar finding is also pointed policing.23 out in the BCSP report with regard to the cooperation between local institutions in Serbia, whose report finds that “communication between a local self-government and the police largely depends on the quality DRAWING ON THE of personal relations between the mayor NARRATIVE FROM or the municipal president, and the head of the police district or station.”27 Although this NEIGHBORS’ EXPERIENCES strongly reflects the reality in the region, that leaders’ personal relations are important, The previously described perspectives of bezbednost.org/upload/document/partnership_ different local experiences resonate with for_safe_communities.pdf developments in Western Balkan region. A study conducted by the Belgrade Centre for 25 Ibid. Security Policy (BCSP) that assesses LSCs 26 Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS), in Serbia, found that in 2007 some 45% of Assessment of the Democratic Oversight the municipalities had established local safe- and Governance Mechanisms of Munici- ty councils, but “the results of their work left pal Community Safety Councils, 2010, p. 24 70, http://www.qkss.org/repository/docs/ much to be desired.” An assessment of the Vler%C3%ABsimi_i_Mbik%C3%ABqyrjes_ Demokratike_dhe_Mekanizmave _t%C3%AB_ 22 Institute for Democracy and Mediation, Bulletin Nr. Qeverisjes_s%C3%AB_K%C3%ABshillave_Komu- 2 “Integrity-Accountability-Partnership”, 2019, p. nale_p%C3%ABr_Siguri_n%C3%AB_Bashk%C3 13, http://idmalbania.org/download/5875/ %ABsi_(alb,eng,srb)_809361.pdf;

23 Ibid, p. 7, http://idmalbania.org/download/5875/ 27 Belgrade Center for Security Policy, Partnership for Safe Communities in Serbia, 2014, p. 20, http:// 24 Belgrade Center for Security Policy, Partnership www.bezbednost.org/upload/document/partner- for Safe Communities in Serbia, 2014, http://www. ship_for_safe_communities.pdf 6 more adequate attention should be paid to should acquire a more tangible and appro- institutional and regular communication of priate approach with the citizens and local the State Police with the Municipal Councils. communities. The regional strategy should be nothing more than a summary of com- Given the practice of accountability meet- missariat-based designed and implemented ings, local community policing strategies strategies.

DRAWING ON THE NARRATIVE FROM NEIGHBORS’ EXPERIENCES

The Ministry of Interior and the State Police As highlighted in the Public Order Strategy have supported a number of initiatives to 2015-2020, “transformation of manage- promote community policing. Yet, the secu- ment of works and collaboration with local rity challenges outrun the present capacities self-government units and other local actors” of the institutions. It is impossible to over- call for improvement of institutions’ legal and come these challenges with the traditional regulatory framework, particularly on the methods of law enforcement institutions; institutional cooperation of State Police and that of vertical intervention. Experiences local self-government unit. In addition, the to date are not producing tangible or sus- Law on Local Self-Governance would benefit tainable results. The State Police should from a re-examination of the authorities and internalize the need to continuously invest in obligations of municipalities and municipal building partnerships that cannot be attained councils on the management of public safe- through partial interventions from outside, ty, some of which can be addressed through including the contribution of various national local safety councils. or international organizations. It is neces- sary to undertake interventions that change IDM proposes the following recommenda- the mindset toward cooperation, policing tions to be considered, in order to construct through building horizontal partnerships, a framework that ensures a sustainable openness, and accountability. approach of local partnerships and effective governance that guarantees public order and Public accountability meetings are important safety: instruments that build on the philosophy of partnership, while offering a bottom-up • The Ministry of Interior, the General approach through the active participation of Directorate of State Police, and the citizens. At the same time, this enhanced ac- Prosecutor Office, should enter into a countability encourages local debates on se- memorandum to hold regular tripartite curity, which impacts the change of attitudes public accountability meetings (minimum towards shared responsibility and collabora- twice a year). This memorandum should tion between, institutions and citizens. stipulate the goal of these meetings and other organizational modalities. If we were to refer to the experience of the last three decades, the 1999 Law on State • Building on the practice of the 1999 Law Police would be a good starting point from a on State Police mentioned above, the legal perspective, as it maintains the unitary role of Municipal Council in approving character of the police and provides guid- the appointment of local police head and ance on the responsibility, accountability, Municipal Council’s periodic appraisal and horizontal collaboration of the police of police work are important steps to with local governance and community. enhance the responsibility, accountability, and cooperation of the police with the

7 local self-government units; requirements would impact institutions’ proactive attitudes to local partnerships. • The General Directorate of the State Police should monitor the procedures of • The establishment of local safety coun- drafting, implementing, and assessing the cils across the country must remain a pri- impact of local policing strategies, which ority and should go hand in hand with the should be police commissariat-based. processes that help the operationalization Local ownership of the local policing of this structure. Local accountability strategies by all stakeholders involved meetings are instruments that effectuate is a precondition for the success of this LSCs and update the objectives of local/ process. An annual independent national regional policing strategies. evaluation report on fulfilling these legal