POLICE-RELATED ACTIVITIES OF FIELD OPERATIONS SOUTH-EASTERN EUROPE The Working Group on Serious Crimes Investigations was set up following a Peer Review of a murder case conducted by the Presence in 2014 in order to address the shortcomings highlighted in the report and gradually implement the recommendations to improve the investigation of serious crimes in Albania. The other Working Group was also set up at the initiative of the Presence in order to help the Albanian State Police senior management to improve the information and intelligence management through a staged process, which included amalgamation of the two IT networks (TIMS and MEMEX) that are used by the Albanian State Police, increased access to criminal intelligence via Albanian State Police intranet, and completion of integration across TIMA and MEMEX to make the most effective use of data held in those systems. OSCE Presence in Albania trained over 6,000 police officers ahead of local elections Ř$SSUR[LPDWHO\SROLFHRIƂFHUV regional police chiefs, underwent Ř$PEDVVDGRU)ORULDQ5DXQLJVWDWHG across Albania were trained on this training, which targeted six “We would like to assure you that their role in the electoral process groups of trainers, who, in turn, the OSCE Presence will continue during a series of training courses delivered the training to over to be a strategic partner not only in Tirana, from 24 March until the 6,000 police officers; in this training process, but also in end of April; Ř7KHWUDLQLQJZDVRUJDQL]HGE\WKH providing comprehensive support, Presence in partnership with the advice and mentoring to the police. Albanian State Police and with the We share a common goal: to help support of the Central Election Albania develop a security sector level police officers, including Commission and the General serving and trusted by its citizens deputy general directors and Prosecutor’s Office; and accountable to them”. Ř7KHWUDLQLQJZDVKHOGLQSUHSDUDWLRQ of the local elections on 21 June; Ř0RUHWKDQKLJKDQGPLGGOH Activities Related to Threats Posed by Criminal Activity Organized Crime On 11 November, following previous efforts to support the fight against serious and organized crime, the Presence, in cooperation with the State Police, started an eight-day training course tailored for nine members of the Police Special Forces Surveillance Unit. The training programme is accredited by the Institute of Leadership and Management in the UK and was delivered  with the support of three international experts. To ensure continuity and sustainability, the experts have been part of the training of the surveillance unit from the very beginning. The training includes covert camouflage deployment and field craft, alternative  methods of entry and re-evaluation as well as foot, mobile and anti/counter surveillance techniques. The aim of the training is to equip the unit with additional strengths and capabilities that may be used during intelligence gathering operations in the fight against serious organized crime and terrorism. the Presence with regards to cross-border co-operation in criminal matters. Hot Pursuit implies a law enforcement officer’s direct and pressing pursuit of an alleged perpetrator that extends into another jurisdiction without seeking an arrest warrant. At the beginning of 2015, the Border and Migration Department, closely supported by the Presence, initiated the procedure to draft and sign this Protocol. An expert working group was formed consisting of representatives of the Border and Migration Department, the Serious and Organized Crime Department, the Department of Public Order and Safety, the Legal Directorate, and the International Co-operation Directorate, as well as one prosecutor from the General Prosecutor’s Office. The group held several meetings to negotiate the proposed protocols with their counterparts. By December 2015, the Protocol on Hot Pursuits had been signed with Kosovo1, while the protocols with Montenegro and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia had been finalized but not yet signed. Cross-Border Co-operation in Criminal Matters The drafting of a Protocol on Cross-Border Hot Pursuits between partners in the region was the main priority for 1 All references to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions or population, in this text should be understood in full compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244. 41