U.S. Support for Haiti's Rookie Police Force
Neild, Rachel
On February 17, 1996, the ninth class of police cadets graduated from the National Police Training Center just outside Port-au-Prince, bringing the first phase of a U.S.-sponsored program to...
...support will continue over the next five years to oversee the institutional development of this new police force...
...ICITAP also assisted the Haitian authorities with such fundamentals as standard operating procedures, codes of conduct, and disciplinary measures...
...This U.S.-sponsored reform process seeks to create the first professional police force in Haitian history...
...As a result, both Aristide and current President Rene Preval have recruited former military officers into the ranks of the new police, ruffling feathers in the Haitian Parliament and among U.S...
...Cadets received four months of training, including human rights instruction, a course on "human dignity," and lectures on the "police mission and its role in a democratic society...
...This partly reflects the abysmal state of the judicial system, but also the reluctance of some judges to prosecute law-enforcement officials...
...Rather than serve as the guardians of public order, the security forces acted as the henchmen of Haiti's tiny elite in their predatory quest for more power and wealth...
...On February 17, 1996, the ninth class of police cadets graduated from the National Police Training Center just outside Port-au-Prince, bringing the first phase of a U.S.-sponsored program to create a new Haitian National Police (HNP) to a close...
...Other security problems plague Haiti, including violent armed criminal gangs and a recent rash of kidnappings of wealthy Haitians...
...During its 20-year occupation of Haiti between 1915 and 1934, after all, the United States helped put in place the same military institution that orchestrated the coup against Aristide and the carnage that followed...
...Eliminating the institution responsible for coup after coup has probably provided the single greatest guarantee for Haitian democracy since the invasion...
...Many suspect that former military and paramilitary personnel may be involved, though this remains to be proven...
...The program took shape in the aftermath of the 1994 U.S...
...Observers worry that the U.S.-trained police force will not be up to the task of keeping the peace...
...Just 16 months after Aristide's return, 5,300 newly recruited and trained police men and women were deployed throughout Haiti...
...After Aristide's return, observers agreed that democratizing Haiti required removing the military from all internal security functions and setting up a new, independent police force...
...If not, Haiti could see a resurgence of vigilante-style justice by a desperate and frustrated population...
...It is ironic that the United States is playing such a central role in creating Haiti's new civilian police force...
...Currently, 24 cases of police abuse are under investigation by legal authorities...
...The cadets were trained by the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP), an agency of the U.S...
...Observers also agree that more than four months of training is required for police officers to be fully prepared to carry out their duties...
...Prior to the reforms, the police were little more than a subordinate branch of the military, which dominated the Haitian security forces...
...There is also an issue of credibility...
...officials...
...Department of Justice that was involved in police reform in Panama following the 1989 U.S...
...invasion, and in El Salvador as part of the peace accords...
...The armed forces were to be maintained, but would be reduced from 6,000 to 1,500 personnel...
...Resources are tight, and equipment, including such basic items as radios, vehicles, chairs and desks, is scarce at all levels...
...The assassination of seven off-duty police offers since March, 1996 is widely seen as an attempt by paramilitary elements to destabilize the situation...
...Further incidents of excessive use of force and abuse of authority were reported, including the beating of detainees and using weapons off-duty...
...As of June, 1996, many stations still lacked copies of the disciplinary codes and standard operating procedures, and only 30 of 185 field commanders were in place...
...Given the country's continuing economic crisis, crime is unlikely to diminish...
...invasion of Haiti, which restored President Jean-Bertrand Aristide-who had been ousted three years earlier by the Haitian security forces-as head of state...
...While most Haitians initially welcomed the idea of a new police force, their only experience of state power has been repression...
...The HNP's Inspector General has imposed sanctions in 173 cases of police killings and abuse of authority, including the firing of 15 officers...
...The police were seen as "soft" and inexperienced by ordinary Haitians, and, according to one human rights activist, only won respect after beating suspected criminals...
...The new force faces the challenge of proving itself by demonstrating its ability to deal with criminals and quell paramilitary violence while respecting human rights...
...Institutional hurdles aside, the "police in pampers"-as some have labeled this novice force-face the formidable task of policing Haiti...
...Police headquarters now issue press releases on incidents of police abuse, stating the names of the officers, their alleged infraction, and the punishments imposed...
...In its first year, the new police force was responsible for killing 26 civilians and wounding another 50...
...Qualified civilian leadership has been hard to come by...
...Legal proceedings against accused police, however, have proceeded at a snail's pace...
...As a result, relations between the new police and the Haitian people have not always been smooth...
...Many Haitians fear that armed antidemocratic groups are biding their time and will reemerge once the international forces depart...
...One positive sign is that for the first time in Haitian history, cases of police brutality are being investigated...
...The UN mission in Haiti has also actively supported the consolidation of the new police force...
...This new police force, nevertheless, may be Haiti's best chance to establish a professional public-order force that will support-rather than overthrow-democratically elected governments...
...In some rural areas, the police were pulled back to nearby urban centers because their stations were in complete disrepair...
...an easy task...
...No one is laying bets yet as to whether the HNP will be able to maintain order on its own once the UN mission departs at the end of this year...
...In December, 1995, howRachel Neild is Senior Associate at the Washington Office on Latin America in Washington, D.C ever, Aristide dismissed all military personnel, de facto abolishing Haiti's military...
...Crowds tend to throw rocks at cops during demonstrations, and inexperienced officers too often respond by opening fire...
Vol. 30 • September 1996 • No. 2
