Police school reopened after U.S. and international restructuring support

TIRANA, Sept. 9 – The Arben Zylyftari police academy reopened after an international funding helped its restructuring. A ceremony held last Friday was attended not only from the Albanian top officials, Interior Minister Sokol Olldashi and police chief Bajram Ibraj, but also the U.S. Ambassador to Tirana Marcie B. Ries, and international missions’ representatives. U.S. was one of the funders of the restructuring together with ICITAP (International Criminal Investigative Training and Assistance Program), PAMECA and other international missions.
“This inaugural class is an example of what can be achieved through collaboration and hard work. It is also just the first step in the ambitious effort to make the Albanian National Police a modern, professional and effective force,” said Ries. Ambassador Ries said that they and their communities would be the direct beneficiaries of this training, concluding, “We want you to be proud of yourselves and Albanians to be proud of their national police.”
The inauguration represents a significant milestone in ICITAP’s assistance to reform police training and professionalize the police force. ICITAP has helped shape the reorganization of the Police Academy Training Program by combining the former three-year academies and the one-year institute into a new curriculum that will also include both substantive classroom learning and field training. ICITAP advisers have also worked on the development of the promotion system, recruitment policy and the formation of a Training Division in the Personnel Directorate of the Albanian Police.
The training will enable a more comprehensive response to routine and emergency calls, the conduct of preliminary criminal investigations, enforcement and investigation of traffic incidents, implementation of an array of law enforcement strategies, and progress in the creation of community-based partnerships. The improved curriculum and management processes are expected to greatly aid the preparation of a new more efficient, professional and modern Albanian police force.