Under the coordination of the Interforze office near the Italian embassy in Albania, 8 neighboring police officers patrolled from July 15 to August 31 on the beaches of Durres, Vlore, Himare and Sarande.

Along with their colleagues from the Vlora police, they say that even this year, when the number of Italian citizens who arrived for holidays in Albania increased significantly, no serious incidents have been recorded in terms of security or crime.

“There were no problems, on the contrary, it was very pleasant to cooperate with the Albanian patrols. We had the opportunity to exchange professionalism between us. And the relationship with tourists has been satisfactory, as they often stopped us and asked us for information, as well as thanked us for our presence. In most cases, we had problems with individuals who had lost their identity cards. We have addressed the citizens to the Italian consulate in Vlore. These were the main problems, no other kind of case. I must say that it was a very well organized service, very nice, both on a professional and humane level,” said Stefania Cappuccini, Italian police officer.

“Their movement in all the beach areas, along the entire coastline that the city of Vlore has, from the estuary of Vlore to Orikum, has made the way of communication with these foreign vacationers better, easier and simpler ,” – declared the chief of order of the Vlore police station, Kristaq Pata.

Even in Durrës, the number of Italian citizens who were “deployed” for vacations is reported to have increased significantly.

“The joint patrol with Albanian law enforcement has been very positive. We exchanged professional experiences and created friendly relations with Albanian colleagues. Italian tourists have known us and had us as a point of reference, they have turned to us for various information and from the point of view of security they have felt very well. Everything was smooth, we had no problems, everything was well organized. An organized and safe climate was perceived,” said the Italian police official, Francesca Riglietti.

The police of the two countries have signed a memorandum of cooperation since 2017 for summer patrols for the safety of Italian tourists in Albania, an agreement that will continue in the coming years where perhaps the increase in the number of tourists will also bring the number of Italian officers who will to serve in Albania, the summer season.