POLICE-RELATED ACTIVITIES OF FIELD OPERATIONS SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE conducted in the second half of 2016 and consisted of five phases: 1) Preparatory Phase, 2) Sample Collection Phase, 3) Examination Phase, 4) Data Processing Phase, and 5)  Publication Phase. The term allele frequencies refers to the frequency of occurrence of an allele in an examined sample. Moreover, conducting such research was a necessary condition for all related statistical assessments of any other profile found at a crime scene. The research was deemed to be very important in order to create a database of the allele frequencies of the Albanian population and to improve the quality of reports developed by the Albanian DNA Unit through the inclusion of statistical calculations of genetic profiles. The research was successfully finalized in December 2016, and samples from over 200 individuals from the 12 regions of Albania, who were not related to one another, were collected and examined by experts of the Albanian DNA Unit. The allele frequencies obtained from this research will be used as a reference for statistical calculations in the Albanian forensics context. They will also be utilized by the recently installed Albanian National DNA Database as references for the Albanian population. Activities Related to Threats Posed by Criminal Activity Organized Crime The joint “Serious and Organized Crime Threat Assessment (SOCTA) 2016” report between authorities in Tirana and Pristina was presented at a regional conference on 8 November in Pristina, where representatives from the Albanian State Police, Kosovo Police, the OSCE Presence in Albania, the OSCE Mission in Kosovo, and the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) were invited to attend. The joint SOCTA Report was the final product of a joint Project on “Enhancing operational criminal intelligence and proactive capacities in the region” between Kosovo Police and Albanian State Police services, which was funded by the DCAF and developed and implemented by the OSCE Mission in Kosovo with support provided by the Presence. In addition to their input on the joint SOCTA report, the analysts from the Albanian State Police developed a national SOCTA report for Albania, which covered the period from 20142015. The methodology that was employed to draft the SOCTA Report focused on three main issues: 1) analysis of organized crime groups, 2) analysis of criminal activities and 3) factors that facilitate, enable or impede crime. Analytical techniques such as Crime Model Analysis and Criminal Network Analysis, along with analytical tools risk matrices, were used in drafting the Report. The analysts also made good use of IT Systems administered by the Albanian State Police, reports and analytical products drafted by police structures and other state institutions in Albania, as well as strategic Europol and open source documents in order to provide useful recommendations for decision-makers in the Albanian State Police regarding the high priority threats of organized and serious crimes in Albania. Cross-Border Co-operation in Criminal Matters After a series of Presence-facilitated meetings, a Cross Border Hot Pursuit Protocol between Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was signed on 20 July by the Albanian Deputy Minister of Interior and his counterpart. This agreement will allow law enforcement officers to chase a criminal suspect across the international border without a request for authorization from their counterparts. The agreement specifies areas, methods, conditions, and circumstances for when pursuit of suspects may be conducted. On 15 and 16 December, the Presence, in close co-operation with the OSCE Mission in Montenegro, organized the second cross-border hot pursuit simulating exercise, which was held at the Muriqan/Sukobin shared border crossing point. The purpose of this simulation exercise was to test the Cross Border Hot Pursuit Protocol. Attending the event were members of the Experts’ Negotiation Working Group, along with representatives from the prosecution office, border and migration police. Participants familiarized themselves with the concept of cross-border Hot Pursuit through experiences from other European countries, as well as its legal background. In addition, they discussed co-operation between public order, criminal police and prosecution offices. Participants were also given a scenario and asked to simulate it at the border crossing, which was followed by a debriefing with conclusions and recommendations. Counter-Terrorism & VERLT A high-level event on the topic of “Foreign Terrorist Fighters and Irregular Migration Routes: Prevention and Resilience” was held in Durrës between 13 and 16 September, cohosted by the Presence, the Prime Minister’s Office, and the State Informative Service (SHISH), with the support of the George C. Marshall Center and the Partnership for Peace (PfP) Consortium. The two-day exercise took place in two different task forces with almost 80 experts and participants and aimed to support the relevant stakeholders of participating Western Balkan countries to increase their capacities in preventing potential terrorist atrocities in Europe and beyond through effective policies countering violent extremism. The invited countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 45