1.1 Dynamics.
The number of cases and offenders for this category of criminal offences is continuously increasing from year to year. The trend 2004-2009 is increasing.
More concretely, the following numbers of cases were registered by year:
Source: Ministry of Justice, Annual Statistical Reports 2004 – 2009
Analysis of statistics: Open Data Albania
The most widespread criminal offence, and the one with the highest number of cases and offenders, is that provided by Article 248 of the Criminal Code, abuse of office. There were 467 cases and 416 perpetrators recorded for the years 2004 – 2009 for this criminal offence. With regard to the number of cases, the criminal offence of passive corruption of persons exercising public functions, Article 259, is ranked second. For this offence, in the course of 2004-2009, 60 cases and 79 offenders were tried.
Title: Number of crimes related to corruption and abuse of office
Source: Ministry of Justice, Annual Statistical Reports 2004 – 2009
Analysis of statistics: Open Data Albania
Article 175. Smuggling by employees linked to customs activities
Article 181/a. Non-performance of duties by tax authorities
Article 217. Receiving payments
Article 244. Active corruption of persons exercising public functions
Article 245. Active corruption of the high state officials and local elected representatives
Article 245/1. Exercising of unlawful influence on public officials
Article 248. Abuse of office
Article 256. Misusing state contributions
Article 257. Illegal benefits from interests
Article 257/a. Refusal to declare, failing to declare, hiding or false declaration of assets by elected persons and public employees
Article 258. Breaching equality in public bids
Article 259. Passive corruption of persons who exercise public functions
Article 260. Passive corruption of high state officials or local elected representatives
Article 319. Active corruption of judges, prosecutors or other justice officials
Article 319/a. Passive corruption of judges, prosecutors and other officials of the justice system
Article 324. Assisting a prisoner to escape
Analysis of statistics: Open Data Albania
Conclusions
1.2 Volume
For the category of criminal offences taken into consideration (corruption and abuse of state office or public function), in the course of 2004-2009, the total number of concluded cases was 656 cases, with 672 offenders convicted.
The year with the highest number of cases was 2009, with 157 cases.
The year with the highest number of offenders convicted is 2009, with 143 offenders.
The year with the lowest number of cases is 2004, with 77 cases.
The year with the lowest number of offenders indicted is 2009, with 83 offenders.
1.3 Criminal offences not prosecuted in the course of 2004-2009.
In the survey, the fact that several articles of this category of criminal offences have never been prosecuted is quite interesting.
A specific example is Article 217 – Receiving payments (for actions relating to crimes against independence and integrity). This criminal offence is provided for in serious cases of actions that infringe the integrity and independence of a country, and the absence of prosecutions for a relative period of time is normal.
1.4 Corruption in the judiciary, a negative indicator.
Despite the high perception of corruption in the judiciary, through judges, prosecutors and other justice officials, the number of prosecutions for the three criminal offences included in the relevant section is only one offender and one case. Thus, for Article 319 – Active corruption of judges, prosecutors and senior justice officials – there is only one case, in 2009, with only one offender convicted. As for Article 324, paragraph two, Assisting a prisoner to escape (with the subject the person on duty), there are no judicial cases.
On the other hand, for the years under consideration, the perception on corruption in the judiciary is very high, both in local surveys and in the reports of international organizations.
1.5 Breaching equality in public bids
The number of cases and offenders prosecuted for the criminal offence provided for by Article 258, Breaching equality in public bids, has increased significantly in the course of years 2008 and 2009. Despite the implementation of electronic tendering during the above-mentioned years, there have been 10 cases with 41 offenders in those years.
1.6 Shortcomings of methodology
The official statistics of the Judiciary and the Ministry of Justice in the Republic of Albania present some problems, which affect the quality of statistical research for this group of offences.
1. There are no data for different paragraphs of the same article where different offences are foreseen for different subjects that vary with a subject exercising a state duty or public function. Such is the case of Article 186, paragraph 3. Falsification of documents by a person charged with issuing the document,
Article 187, paragraph 2. Falsification of school documents by a person charged with issuing the document;
Article 188, paragraph 2 Falsification of health-related documents by a person charged with issuing the document;
Article 189, paragraph 3 Falsification of Identity Documents, Passports or Visas when done by the person charged with issuing them;
Article 190/3 Falsification of Seals, Stamps or Forms by a person charged with drawing them up;
Article 191/3 Falsification of Civil Status Documents done by a person charged with issuing the act;
Article 298/paragraph 5 Assistance for Illegal Crossing of the Border.
2. Not all Annual Statistical Reports of the Judiciary and the Ministry of Justice provide data on offences according to a specific article. For example, there are statistics on cases from the prosecution office containing only the designation of the most serious offence (highest sentence). The criminal offence is a piece of statistical data that gives information about every proceeding under a specific article even for the case when the file is marked under the section that contains a more serious charges but also in proceedings for other criminal offences.
It is essential to fix these two shortcomings of the official statistics in order to have an accurate volume and dynamics of the phenomenon of criminality.
Contributed by: Aranita Brahaj