Mention this topic to most expats who've been in Albania long enough, and they'll tell you that Albania and Durrës feel SAFE. And statistically, over the last few years, tourist and visitor-facing offences have been on a par, or lower than most other touristic European countries
That's not to say that there isn't crime or other kinds of anti-social behaviour; there are occasional posts on expat forums warning of creepy individuals lurking in tourist locations and blatant theft, but people, and particularly women, I speak to, say they feel safer here than in many European cities or parts of America.
If you're coming to live in Durrës, though, it's worth knowing about an area of town that's best avoided at night, the area around the overpass at the entrance to Plazh. known as Ura e Dajlanit. After dark, it's often the haunt of prostitutes and drug dealers, and many women have reported being approached or hassled there at night. If you find you need to walk from town to the Plazh area after dark, there is a path that avoids Ura e Dajlanit completely, passing around the back of the road junction and in front of the beach hotels. It's marked on the map on this page.
One other potential problem to be aware of is pickpockets on buses. During busy times of the day, many routes have buses full to bursting, and the potential for pickpockets is high. I've been told by expats how they've had wallets and phones stolen while crushed into other passengers. Buses are a great source of transport for those without cars, but remember to keep valuables safe in bags or zipped pockets when travelling on them.
Road Safety
It's not just the 'boisterous' driving style, the triple parking on Rruga Taulantia, or the drivers pulling U-turns mid-carriageway: if none of these things gets you, the potholes will. Albania still has one of the highest rates of road traffic accidents in Europe, but given the state of the roads, it's a wonder anyone's cars function at all. I've been driven along roads around the new university campus, where the cars look like they're in a slalom event. Again, this is an area of civic life that is improving, with the local authorities gradually improving road surfaces, but the best advice is still: if you're unsure about tackling the highways, hire a driver or take a taxi.