At the inauguration of the project’s operations center, he underlined that thanks to this technology, it will become almost impossible for perpetrators of criminal acts to hide evidence. According to him, the practice of vehicles used for criminal acts and then destroyed by fire belongs to the past.

The system will generate instant alarms for any high-risk scenario, including the identification of wanted persons or the appearance of a cold weapon in shared spaces, significantly strengthening the police’s ability to intervene before situations escalate.

“The architecture of the project is designed so that the platform signals danger in real time, not just archiving data that is collected only after the event, as the minister explained. If someone pulls out a knife in any public space, not only inside schools but also on the street, the monitoring center receives an alert immediately. It could be a harmless situation, but also a dangerous one. When it comes to a wanted person trying to vanish without a trace, the system makes it almost impossible for authorities not to know his trajectory,” Rama stated.

He added that the era of cars involved in crimes ending up burned is over, because the platform tracks the vehicle long before it stops. Even though procedures have been optimized, they still carry difficulties, such as road stops accompanied by tensions between officers and drivers. This will no longer be necessary, as the center receives a signal the moment a vehicle with unpaid obligations enters traffic. Moreover, work is underway to connect police officers’ body cameras directly to this center.

Rama acknowledged that incidents will not disappear entirely, but stressed that preventative capabilities will increase exponentially, risks will diminish, and the rate of violation detection will experience an extraordinary rise. He also praised the increased commitment of school security guards, police, educational institution leaders, and parents’ suggestions, describing it as an exhausting effort to block extreme acts.

Referring to an incident that occurred outside school premises, he noted that no matter how great the effort, the result is not entirely satisfactory. Especially today, when children face a silent enemy: the most dangerous neighborhood bandit, which is nothing other than the algorithm hidden in teenagers’ pockets or bags. He warned that the new system will also focus on interaction with families.

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Në inaugurimin e Qendrës operative të projektit, ai nënvizoi se falë kësaj teknologjie, autorëve të veprave penale do t’u bëhet gati e pamundur të fshehin provat.

Sipas tij, praktika e automjeteve që përdoren për akte kriminale dhe më pas asgjësohen nga zjarri, i përket të shkuarës.

Sistemi do të gjenerojë alarme të atypëratyshme për çdo skenar me rrezikshmëri të lartë, përfshirë identifikimin e personave të shpallur në kërkim apo shfaqjen e një arme të ftohtë në hapësira të përbashkëta, duke forcuar ndjeshëm aftësinë e policisë për të ndërhyrë përpara se situatat të përshkallëzohen.

“Arkitektura e projektit është konceptuar që platforma të sinjalizojë rrezikun në kohë reale, jo thjesht të arkivojë të dhëna që merren vetëm pas ngjarjes, siç sqaroi ministrja. Nëse dikush nxjerr një thikë në çdo ambient publik, jo vetëm brenda shkollave, por edhe në rrugë, qendra e monitorimit merr njoftim menjëherë. Mund të jetë një situatë e padëmshme, por edhe e rrezikshme. Kur bëhet fjalë për një të kërkuar që tenton të zhduket pa lënë gjurmë, sistemi e bën gati të pamundur që autoritetet të mos e dinë trajektoren e tij”, u shpreh Rama.

Ai shtoi se epoka e makinave të përfshira në krime që përfundojnë të shkrumbuara ka marrë fund, sepse platforma e gjurmon automjetin shumë përpara se ai të ndalojë.

Sado që procedurat janë optimizuar, ato ende mbartin vështirësi, si ndalesat në rrugë që shoqërohen me tensione mes oficerëve dhe shoferëve.

Kjo nuk do të jetë më e nevojshme, pasi qendra merr sinjal në çastin kur një mjet me detyrime të papaguara hyn në trafik. Për më tepër, po punohet që kamerat e trupit të punonjësve të policisë të lidhen drejtpërdrejt me këtë qendër.

Rama pranoi se incidentet nuk do të zhduken krejtësisht, por theksoi se aftësia parandaluese do të rritet në mënyrë eksponenciale, rreziqet do të pakësohen dhe shkalla e zbulimit të shkeljeve do të pësojë një rritje të jashtëzakonshme.

Ai vlerësoi gjithashtu angazhimin e shtuar të rojeve të sigurisë në shkolla, të policisë, drejtuesve të institucioneve arsimore dhe sugjerimeve të prindërve, duke e cilësuar si një përpjekje rraskapitëse për të bllokuar aktet ekstreme.

Duke iu referuar një rasti të ndodhur jashtë ambienteve shkollore, ai vuri në dukje se sado i madh të jetë mundi, rezultati nuk arrin të jetë plotësisht i kënaqshëm.

Sidomos sot, kur përballë fëmijëve qëndron një armik i heshtur: banditi më i rrezikshëm i lagjes, që nuk është tjetër veçse algoritmi i fshehur në xhepat apo çantat e adoleshentëve. Ai paralajmëroi se sistemi i ri do të përqendrohet edhe te bashkëveprimi me familjet.

The post Smart City: Rama paralajmëron fundin e epokës së makinave të djegura pas krimeve dhe sinjalizim të menjëhershëm për armët e ftohta në publik appeared first on Albeu.com.

She stressed that a $118 million loan from the Abu Dhabi Fund, which the government sent to Parliament for ratification in March 2025, will finance a contract that, according to her, will be awarded without a tender and without transparency to “Presight Al Ltd”, a company linked to the G42 group.

The Democratic Party says the value of the project reaches around $140 million including VAT and that the costs have been artificially inflated by up to $80 million, especially in the software and maintenance components.

“Instead of this money being invested in the urgent needs of Albanian citizens, it will be used to finance a giant contract that will be awarded without a tender, without competition and without transparency to Presight Al Ltd, linked to the G42 group from Abu Dhabi.

The real value of the contract reaches around $140 million including VAT, while the cost analysis raises serious suspicions that the project has been artificially inflated by up to $80 million,” Vangjeli said.

According to the loan documents, the project is divided into $31.13 million for software licenses, $62.4 million for hardware and infrastructure, $7.84 million for professional services and $17.13 million for four years of maintenance.

According to these figures, more than $48 million is being spent on software and maintenance alone, not including physical equipment such as cameras and monitoring systems.

“The project provides for the installation of 8,657 monitoring devices, including ANPR cameras, PTZ cameras and body cameras for the State Police. However, the average cost comes to around $13,688 per device without interest and nearly $15,878 per device with calculated interest, levels that raise serious questions about the reasonableness of the spending,” she added.

FULL STATEMENT:

Statement by the Democratic Party’s anti-corruption spokesperson, Genta Vangjeli:

In March 2025, the government sent to Parliament for ratification a $118 million loan from the Abu Dhabi Fund, with a 15-year repayment term and 4 percent annual interest.

Instead of this money being invested in the urgent needs of Albanian citizens, it will be used to finance a giant contract that will be awarded without a tender, without competition and without transparency to Presight Al Ltd, linked to the G42 group from Abu Dhabi.

The real value of the contract reaches around $140 million including VAT, while the cost analysis raises serious suspicions that the project has been artificially inflated by up to $80 million.

According to the official loan documents, the project is divided into:

$31.13 million for software licenses;

$62.4 million for hardware and infrastructure;

$7.84 million for professional services;

$17.13 million for four years of maintenance.

This means that more than $48 million is being spent on software and maintenance alone, not including the cameras and physical equipment.

The project provides for the installation of 8,657 monitoring devices, including ANPR cameras, PTZ cameras and body cameras for the State Police.

However, the average cost comes to around $13,688 per device without interest and nearly $15,878 per device with calculated interest, levels that raise serious questions about the reasonableness of the spending.

Comparisons with public market prices for modern video-monitoring systems show that the software and maintenance item alone is around seven times higher than international benchmarks for similar systems. The unjustified difference amounts to more than $41 million in this component alone.

According to data from international companies specializing in security and monitoring technologies, a similar system for Albania, with a population of around 2.4 million inhabitants, would cost between $50 million and $90 million, far less than the $118.5 million in the proposed contract.

But the concern is not only related to the costs.

The ‘Smart City / Safe Nation’ project aims to establish an advanced monitoring infrastructure with cameras, artificial intelligence and a centralized control center.

In the absence of transparency over how the system will be used, data storage, access to information, independent auditing and guarantees for privacy protection, serious concerns arise over the establishment of a mechanism for the mass surveillance of citizens.

Albanians have the right to know why they are taking on a new $118 million debt to finance a contract awarded without competition and without bidding, while experts estimate that the same technology could be secured for tens of millions of dollars less.

Without transparency, without a tender and without the publication of the real costs, this project remains under the shadow of suspicions of misuse of public funds, favoritism toward selected companies and infringement of citizens’ fundamental freedoms.

We demand the immediate publication of the full detailed cost estimate, an independent international audit of the costs and clear legal guarantees for the protection of every Albanian citizen’s personal data.

No government can take on hundreds of millions of dollars in debt in the name of Albanians and spend it without competition, without accountability and without transparency.

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