Europe supports building of Albanian State Police academy

TIRANA, March 14 – Albania started the construction and renovation of the State Police Academy with the financial assistance from the European Commission with 1.5 million Euros.
The project aims at improving the operational conditions of the Albanian State Police which would positively affect its overall performance.
The construction and renovation projects that are to continue until January 2010 address several physical and facility gaps. More specifically, the project includes the construction of a new shooting range, a new guard house, a dormitory, an infirmary and chancellery, as well as renovations of the beginners’ school, the administrative buildings, the refectory and the facility blocks.
The final result will be an Albanian State Police complex in line with European and international standards that will contribute to the effectiveness of offering assistance, like the PAMECA mission which heavily invests in the human resources of the Albanian police force through various training programmes and more.
Head of the Delegation of the European Commission Ambassador Helmuth Lohan pointed to several issues pertinent to the good functioning of the Albanian State Police, such as the physical working conditions and legislative, structural and human resource aspects, alongside political will to make appropriate and proportionate use of police capabilities for law enforcement, public safety and quality living.
Concerning the significance of this particular assistance, he noted that “an improvement in physical working conditions is expected to raise the effectiveness of the other areas of intervention, of the trainings for instance, and thus positively affect the overall, qualitative performance of the Albanian State Police”.
“While it is relatively easy for buildings to persist, investments in the professionalism of the police forces, through the various and continuous trainings, needs to be preserved by avoiding unnecessary staff changes, especially when not motivated by low performance,” said Lohan.