Author: Denis Tahiri
Searching for security cameras on every street, business and private property, the State Police insists that it is cutting the threads of crime. That is why the operation, which has been going on for several weeks, has been coded with this name. Asked by “Sinjalizo”, the press office of the central police declares the high number of dismantled cameras and referrals to the prosecutors of the judicial districts. For the period from January 15 to February 3, the State Police specifies that “A total of 508 cameras have been dismantled and seized, where 220 cameras have been dismantled in Tirana, 37 in Elbasan, 79 cameras have been dismantled in Shkodër, 9 in Lezhë, 54 cameras have been dismantled in Durrës, 26 cameras in Vlorë, 54 cameras in Korçë, 20 cameras have been dismantled in Fier, 3 in Gjirokastër and 6 in Dibër”.
For the police, this operation is part of a new long-term strategy in the fight against crime. But no light is shed on in what aspect the crime is being fought, despite the fact that among the names referred to there are known protagonists of crime in cities such as Shkodra, Tirana, Elbasan, Vlora and Durrës.
State Police: Investigation of 101 citizens for installing cameras
Operation "Fijet" according to the blue uniforms, aims to protect the privacy of citizens as well as to cut off the opportunities of the criminal contingent to be supplied with information.
"One of the components of this strategy is the control of the correct implementation of Law No. 19/2016 "On Additional Public Security Measures", as the analysis has shown that there is a misinterpretation of this law regarding the installation of security cameras. In this context, citizens, but also citizens with a criminal record, have installed cameras, violating the right to privacy of other citizens", the General Directorate of the State Police officially states, adding that in-depth investigations have been initiated for 101 citizens, some of whom are citizens with a criminal record for various criminal activities.
For 101 Albanian citizens, who have had security cameras installed, the police has launched an in-depth investigation for the criminal offense of "Unjust interference in private life", but according to experts, this criminal offense will be "overturned" by the justice authorities.
"The misuse of the camera must be proven," says lawyer Jordan Daci, who adds that an expert examination must be conducted, the angle from which the camera was pointed must be looked at. " Now I say I pointed it at the house, you moved it, practically you can't prove it. 99.9% it falls as an accusation. They will take it to the prosecutor's office once and I don't believe the prosecutor will take it forward," Mr. Daci tells "Sinjalizo".
The same opinion is shared by lawyer Arbër Hoxha, who states that the accusation does not stand. " First, interference in private life, starts on the basis of a complaint from the injured party, which means that if you feel violated in your private life you must file a report with the prosecutor's office, police, etc. and if the prosecutor questions you, he must keep a record called the questioning of the injured party and it is the injured party's complaint, so if there is no complaint from the injured party, it cannot be prosecuted primarily without the need for the injured party to file a complaint," he states, adding that there are a number of specific offenses in the criminal procedure code that are prosecuted based on the injured party's complaint and this is one of them.
" In Article 59 of the Criminal Procedure Code, this proceeding cannot be initiated by the prosecutor, but it is the accusing victim who takes on the attributes of the prosecutor in court and has the burden of proof, and according to Article 59, the prosecutor is a party to the trial but is not the main party, the accusing victim is the main party ," concludes Mr. Hoxha, adding that a proceeding cannot be initiated under Article 121 of the Criminal Code.
On the other hand, lawyer Jordan Daci says that the installation of cameras is simply an administrative offense: " It is the law on increased security and it says about installation, not removal. As a rule, the police have the right to remove them for security reasons, but they are at the level of an administrative offense, there is no criminal offense," he concludes.
Security expert Softa: The police action had 2 mistakes
"The State Police has shown courage like never before by intervening in one of the most important technological points in the service of crime," says Professor Ervin Karamuço for "Sinjalizo", adding that the fragmented and phased manner in which this operation was organized has lowered expectations for the discovery of the entire infrastructure and the real perpetrators of the illegal cameras.
Even security expert Fatjon Softa, asked by "Sinjalizo" about the police actions, said that; " As for the way the intervention was carried out, it was definitely wrong and continues to be wrong", he says, adding that the action had two mistakes. " First, the brutal removal of the cameras, that is, not by expert people, which if the police had not needed to use them, could have taken to guard schools, kindergartens, nurseries or other public facilities . Second, it gave other groups the opportunity, from the moment of the signal in Shkodër, in Tirana, Vlora and wherever the action continues, to disconnect their connections, to remove evidence. So we removed the cameras' eye but we did not go to the servers and the fact that when the cameras are removed, they only have a negative effect, since in most cases all the events are discovered by the cameras. By those cameras of Albanian citizens", he says.
For the criminology professor, Karamuço, the police force's mistake lay in the lack of simultaneous action across the territory to remove the cameras, accompanied by proactive preliminary investigations to uncover the servers, monitors, observers and organizers. "The police justify this inaction with the lack of human resources, but I think there may be other reasons that I do not wish to allude to," says Mr. Karamuço, adding that after removing the illegal cameras, the police should hurry to add public security cameras, as the only benefit to regain control of the areas that were monitored until yesterday only by people with a criminal record.
The General Directorate of the State Police states to "Sinjalizo" that: " In accordance with Law No. 19/2016 "On additional public security measures", the State Police has accurate evidence of private entities that have installed cameras. The field inspection continues, as the re-inspection of the entire territory regarding the installation of cameras is part of this operation". Meanwhile, according to this law, the police should have a register of all security cameras installed in our country by private entities.
" There is a national registry of security cameras according to the law, but in relation to the national number of cameras installed throughout the territory, there is a very reduced number ," says Professor Karamuço. Meanwhile, for security expert Fatjon Softa, there can be no registry as long as " in all the events that have occurred, police officers come to the neighborhood where the person has passed on a street or alley and police officers roam street by street looking with the naked eye to see where the cameras are and who has them to contact the person."
" I have always said," says Mr. Softa, " that a digital registry should be created for cameras invested by private individuals, regardless of whether the private individuals will then share them for criminal purposes or for preventive purposes to protect property, housing, etc.," he says.
