Montenegro and Turkey, as well as Kosovo9. Despite advanced preparations, the exercise
exposed a collective organisational inability of the law enforcement agencies involved to form
a Joint Investigation Team at short-notice. Future activities of the Presence, and other OSCE
missions in the region, will address this deficiency. The exercise culminated with simulated
arrests in Albania and Montenegro, as well as Kosovo, on 26 September, when the Presence
was on hand to witness arrest, prisoner processing and interview procedures at Durres Port
in Albania.
On 7 October 2014, a debrief of the Albanian aspects of the trafficking exercise identified that
the Prosecutor and State Police units involved had taken the exercise very seriously and,
with minor learning points, performed to a high standard. Participants felt that the exercise
had reflected a plausible real-life scenario and that as individuals and organizations they had
learned valuable lessons from the experience. A debrief of all the law enforcement agencies
involved was later organized by OMiK, which the Presence and their Albanian partners
attended and contributed to.
Additionally, the Presence provided support to the national authorities to address the issue of
trafficking for labour exploitation. In the framework of this support, the Presence facilitated
the signing of a co-operation agreement among the National Anti-Trafficking Coordinator,
General Director of State Police and General Director of State Labour Inspectorate, which
paved the way for the establishment of joint inspection of forced labour and trafficking for
labour exploitation. Training was provided to the Task Force at the central level, to be
followed by local training in 2015. So far, two joint inspections have taken place in Tirana.
Border Management Police (BMP)
During 2014, the Presence supported the implementation of the new Integrated Border
Management (IBM) Strategy for 2014-2020. Additionally, the Presence supported the BMP in
a broad range of activities and enabled a constant flow of information between Albania and
the neighbouring authorities, thus improving cross-border co-operation in tackling
transnational threats. In particular, the Presence facilitated the signing of a protocol for a
newly established Border Crossing Point between Montenegro and Albania in Grabon Zatrijebaçka Cijevna. In March 2014, the Presence successfully completed a basic
Serbian/Croatian language training for 22 border police officers from Shkoder. These officers
went on to use their new language skills during joint patrolling operations with their
Montenegrin counterparts. In December 2014, the Presence, in co-operation with the OSCE
Mission to Montenegro, organized a joint training between the border police officers of
Albania and Montenegro, which was focused on identifying inconsistencies with Albanian
and Montenegrin biometric passports and ID cards. Trainees (40 in total) operate at the
border crossing points of Muriqan and Han i Hotit. A technical review of border police radio
communications was also undertaken. The report is under discussion with the host country.
Surveillance Training for Police Special Forces
The Presence, in co-operation with the Institute of Leadership and Management in the UK,
successfully delivered Covert Rural Observation Post Surveillance training to the Police
Special Forces. In order to close remaining knowledge gaps of personnel in this unit, the
Presence addressed these in September/October 2014 through further accredited
training. The training programme was designed to give the Surveillance Unit essential skills
in map reading, alternative means of entry, urban observation posts and foot, mobile and
anti/counter-surveillance. This training facilitates the safe implementation of difficult
intelligence gathering operations in the fight against organized crime. Moreover, it aids the
development and implementation of intelligence-led policing in Albania.
9
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All references to Kosovo, whether to the territory, institutions or populations, in this text should be understood in full
compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244.
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