The police: The local government of the police service

This article describes the problems associated with the establishment of decentralised local government in post-communist Albania. After presenting some relevant historical and cultural information about Albania, communist and post-communist government structures are described and compared. This is followed by a description of the status, boundaries and powers of the various tiers of local administration and their relation to central government. Analysis of this information draws attention to similarities in structure and organisational culture between the communist periods and the present. It attributes the difficulties in rebuilding state structures to the unfamiliar nature of liberal democratic institutions and the lack of resources available to the new state. The development of local government was constrained by central government policies which resulted in tangled lines of accountability, reductions in funding, restriction of ability to raise taxes and by limiting sectors of responsibility. Despite an increase in democratically elected institutions, central government sought to retain control and inhibit the devolution of power. Poor transparency, lack of accountability and restricted access to information contributed to local government being held in low regard by the general public. The article concludes that it is unproductive to focus assistance on economic stabilisation without commensurate support for the development of democratic institutions.