When it comes crime, authorities should address the root of the problem, become proactive and not limit themselves to reacting after crimes happen.
Tirana Times editorial
TIRANA, Aug. 9 – Albania has many problems – political conflict, bad infrastructure – and it’s very poor by European standards. Random crime against common citizens and visitors – outside certain problematic rural areas – has not been one for these problems however.
That’s not to say there is no violent crime in Albania. But, more often than not, it is targeted crime. One criminal gang on another, shady business deals gone wrong – or as a results of long-running disputes over property or other issues. There is also a lot of crime inside families too, particularly when alcohol abuse is a factor.
However, random murder through robbery or even robbery under threat in the middle of a public street in an Albanian city are rare — rarer in fact than many big cities in Europe or North America.
At the end of the day, Albania is largely safe for the common citizen and foreign visitors. Dangerous automobile traffic is the most important thing one needs to worry about on Albanian roads, not getting robbed or hurt at random by crime.
That noted, it has become clear this summer that if not properly-controlled, Albanian authorities will face a growing crime rate on their hands. Desperation over a worsening economic climate combined with youth lacking the moral fiber once standard in strong Albanian families could spell trouble. That’s why authorities need to address the root of the problem, not react after the fact in each crime.
Albanian police and prosecutors often complain that they do their job, but judges are often lenient in sentencing, particularly when it comes to young offenders. Perhaps the courts’ punishments need to be made harsher and a better system of correction institutions for young offenders needs to be put in place.
Police also need to rely on the community to identify and neutralize troublemakers before they start. They should use modern police tactics to keep a lid on such crimes.
In addition to random crime, police should do a better job with conflict resolution inside families or among groups of people in conflict. A couple of weeks ago, for example, several people from the same family were shot by their neighbors in a conflict over property in northern Albania. It was a conflict that was known to authorities, yet they did little prevent it. Top police officials for the area were fired shortly after, but it was too little too late to save those who died.
As such authorities need to a proactive rather than reactive role in fighting crime and conflict.
This also relates with the lofty goal of building a strong state, with strong structures – where citizens trusts the courts to dispense justice instead of taking justice in their own hands. (Blood feuds – the barbaric medieval tradition in which one family takes revenge of another over generations – also remains a problem in certain areas.)
In addition to tough enforcement, having a strong state where the social safety net is strong enough to avoid desperation that leads to crime, is also important.
These problems won’t be solved over night. But they do need to be addressed.
