The Albanian government has reshuffled 13 district police directors and other senior officials following public outcry after a family of 4 died in a traffic accident and an armed conflict left 4 victims one week ago.
Senior officials across major cities, including Tirana, Durrës, Vlora, Shkodër, Korça, and Gjirokastra replaced each other or were re-appointed to equivalent positions.
The government’s decision came after public outcry on social media after 8 people died last weekend. The president and the opposition called on the government to take measures to prevent a repeat of these accidents, blaming the police for failing to control the roads and the territory.
Prime Minister Edi Rama promised to speed up a reform in the police. Minister of Interior Bledi Çuçi exonerated the police from last week’s deaths but promised to reshuffle some officials. He said this was part of a reform planned earlier but that was brought forward as a response to the latest incidents.
The minister called on the public to reflect on the recent incidents. “The police […] cannot follow every car on the road, and it cannot prevent an incident between two neighbors at 1 am,” he stated.
