Blog Post
Albania: ICITAP Concludes Advanced Suspect Interviewing for Narcotics Investigations Course
On March 31, ICITAP-Albania completed the delivery of the Advanced Suspect Interviewing (ASI) for Narcotics Investigations course at the Security Academy in Tirana. Funded by the Department of Defense U.S. European Command (EUCOM), ASI was designed by ICITAP staff and was a continuation of the 40-hour basic interviewing course ICITAP provided to all 60 National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Investigators as part of their 2021 and 2022 foundational training. The non-accusatory, information gathering P.E.A.C.E model is considered to be best practice and suitable for any type of interviewee, including victims, witnesses, or suspects. The basic course, specifically designed to comport with Albanian law, was met with overwhelmingly positive feedback from instructors, participants, observers, and the prosecutors, whose cases benefit from the product and provided feedback. The one-week ASI training began on January 16, 2023 and was repeated for 11 weeks. In total, all 60 NBI Investigators and 42 Police Oversight Agency (POA) officers were trained. Each participant was required to conduct a series of interviews while investigating a drug trafficking scenario where evidence was evaluated by the instructors. Fifteen Security Academy Albanian State Police (ASP) recruits acted in roles as suspects, witnesses, or victims, and provided the investigators with different levels of cooperation. In each interview, the investigator was video recorded in order to help them identify strengths and weaknesses of their interview technique. This process allowed the investigator to gain insight on the added complexity of video recorded interviews and will provide them the ability to conduct better interviews in the future. Five video recording devices were purchased through ICITAP-funding and will be donated to the Special Anti-Corruption Structure (SPAK). On March 31, 2023 members of the training team met with the role players and presented them with a certificate of appreciation and penal code manual for Albania.
Updated January 20, 2025