In just one month at the head of the State Police, Skënder Hita has made around 70 moves to important positions within the structure with 12,000 officers.
Historically, the appointment of a new police chief has been followed by a series of changes in the hierarchy of the blue uniforms. But from the first introductory meetings in the districts, Hita has made it clear to his subordinates that a lack of results will not be tolerated.
The change orders have come in several phases and have mainly affected the deputy directors of the regions in Tirana, Fier, Lezhë, Shkodër, Elbasan. In the center, there were movements in the Anti-Terrorism and Operational Directorates. The border directorates, which operate separately from the regions, were also affected.
So far, this is the space in which Hitaj can act on his own. The situation is complicated with the district directors, who were appointed on a competitive basis according to legal changes a few years ago. The only way to influence remains the demand for high results, or punishment in cases of failure. Apparently, this was also the case in Lezha, where police groups sent from Tirana found two premises where games of chance were being played. A discovery that also determined the subsequent fate of the director Islor Islami himself, who was forced to resign.
The situation is similar with the chiefs of police stations, where in fact Hita has only intervened in limited cases. In Peqin, where the police station was dissolved after the discovery of a warehouse converted into a drugstore. And in police station two in Tirana.
The heads of four departments in the General Directorate are also elected through competition. Here, Hita will have to open the competition process. Because since the legal changes of September 2024 for the State Police, no competition has been held. A process opened a few months ago was canceled after the lawsuit of the former director of the BKH, Aida Hajnaj, who requested a return to the police in the position she previously held. The competition is expected to be unblocked in June, paving the way for new names at this level./ shqiptarja.com