Showing posts with label police. Show all posts
Showing posts with label police. Show all posts

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Security News

Life in Kabul Amid the Violence. Taliban attacks and bombings within the city of Kabul have increased significantly and the population is constantly on edge. Read "Kabul families struggle to smile amid rising violence", BBC News, August 30, 2015.

Small Victories Count. Angelic Young, worked for the U.S. Department of State for over ten years serving in positions in the counternarcotics and law enforcement fields. From 2001 to 2007 she was a "frontline civilian" and served as the DoS program manager for the Afghanistan National Police Program. Looking back, she says it was hard to recall positive moments but there were some small advances that made a difference. Read her article on the "Family Response Unit" of the Afghan National Police in "In conflict environments, little wins make a difference", devex.com, August 31, 2015.

Sweden, Germany, and "Kill Decisions" in the RS HQs CJOC. Looks like there are some tensions building over the presence of coalition officers being present in the Combined Joint Operations Center (CJOC) of the Resolute Support Mission at the RS compound in Kabul. The CJOC monitors all combat operations in Afghanistan (special operations and drone strikes conducted by the U.S. military and other coalition partners) and liasion and officers from various nations are present during these activities. Some question whether this violates the national caveats that a couple of the nations have. Read more in "Germany and Sweden Are Said to to Help Make Afghan 'Kill Decisions", The New York Times, September 4, 2015.

ALP: More Funding & Scrutiny Needed. "The Afghan Local Police (ALP) are playing an increasingly important security role, but questions remain about the accountability of this new and sometimes controversial force. Speakers at a series of IWPR debates held around Afghanistan in August called for action to curb corruption and abuses in order to ensure these police units enjoyed local support". Read more in "Afghans Want More Funding for Local Police, But More Scrutiny Too", Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR), September 5, 2015.

Militias in Faryab Out of Control? The multiethnic province in the northwest has been troubled by the Taliban for a few years. The Afghan police and the 209th ANA Corps have been unable to secure the province. Vice President Dostum has made it a personal mission to establish security in the province and he is relying on some militias to accomplish this. Read more in "Return of Militias to Afghan Front Lines Sparks Allegations of Abuses", Radio Free Europe, September 5, 2015.

RS HQs Counter-IED Staff. "According to a report by the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan, in the first six months of 2015, 22 percent of Afghan civilian casualties stemmed from improvised explosive devices. The Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan Counter-IED Directorate is working to change that. The Kabul-based team of coalition service members, Department of Defense civilians and contractors at Resolute Support Headquarters trains, advises and assists Afghan National Defense and Security Forces on how to identify and disarm IEDs and unexploded ordnance and collect evidence following detonation". Read more in "Empowering Afghan citizens to counter IED threats", RS News, September 5, 2015.

AAF CAS Detailed. The Afghan Air Force is increasing its capability to provide close air support but it is still a very small capability. Read more in "Afghan Air Force Hailed for Creative Operations Despite Shortfalls", Khaama Press, September 3, 2015.

13 Civilians Killed in Balkh Province. On Saturday unidentified gunmen stopped civilian vehicles and killed the occupants.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Update on Afghan Police

On June 4, 2015 the International Crisis Group released a report entitled "The Future of the Afghan Local Police". The report was critical of the ALP and states that the ALP has had a mixed record in providing for security in many districts in Afghanistan. The report offers several recommendations to include extending the mission of some ALP units, dismantling others, and eventually discontinuing the program altogether. There are 19 total recommendations addressed to a variety of organizations to include the government of Afghanistan, United States DoD, UN Security Council, donor nations, and the United States government.

www.crisisgroup.org/en/regions/asia/south-asia/afghanistan/268-the-future-of-the-afghan-local-police.aspx

Afghan Army and Police Pay Boosted. The Afghan president has increased the pay for the ANSF. Poor pay and lack of benefits along with a 59% increase in casualties this year over 2014 has resulted in a significant desertion rate. Read more in Stars and Stripes (June 30, 2015).

New LOTFA Agreement with UNDP. The Ministry of Interior Affairs announced the approval of an 18-month extension of the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA) with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Afghanistan. Read more in a UNDP news release (June 30, 2015). A recent news report states that the European Union has made a significant contribution to law and order in Afghanistan (EU Observer, Jul 8, 2015).

EFT for ALP. The Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan (CSTC-A) and the MOI have reached an agreement to authorize a mobile money pilot program providing for Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) of pay for members of the Afghan Local Police (ALP). It is thought that the use of EFT will prevent corruption and 'leakage' of funds. Currently many of the ALP members rely on 'trusted agents' to carry pay to the remote ALP outposts. Read more in an RSM press release (June 29, 2015).

New MoI IG. The new MoI Inspector General says he will reduce corruption in the Ministry of Interior. The Essential Function 2 (TAO) advisors seem quite enamored of him. Hmmmm, we shall see. (RS News, Jul 13, 2015).

Assessment of EUPOL in Afghanistan. This assessment of the European Police Mission in Afghanistan found that it had been partly effective in delivering its mandate. This assessment conducted by the European Court of Auditors makes a number of recommendations applicable not only to EUPOL Afghanistan but to other police missions as well. The EU police mission in Afghanistan: mized results, July 2015, 52 pages, is posted on the Peace Keeping and Stability Operations Institute (PKSOI) website of the U.S. Army.
www.pksoi.org/index.cfm?disp=cdrview.cfm&cdrid=1366

Report - "Not Their War to Fight". Anila Daulatzai of Harvard University has published a paper entitled Not Their War to Fight: The Afghan Police, Families of their Dead, and an American War. The paper claims that Afghan police members work not to secure their country and communities but to seek employment and provide for their families. This 13 page paper provides an alternative (and not entirely incorrect) view of the Afghan National Police.

Medicine Transferred to ANP. RS HQs transferred about $150,000 in medicine to the ANP recently. (DVIDS, Jul 15, 2015).

Monday, April 20, 2015

LOFTA Under Attack

A United Nations sponsored report has found that Afghanistan government officials who headed up an organization that provided oversight of the Afghan police has not been doing their job. The report found that only 9 cases of 2,000 were referred for prosecution. The senior Afghan police officials suppressed corruption complaints against the police. The report was commissioned by the Law and Order Trust Fund of Afghanistan (LOTFA) late last year. It was completed in January 2015 but never shown to senior UN officials. LOFTA has received around $3.6 billion from international donors to pay for Afghan police force salaries and other expenses but investigation after investigation finds that the money is re-routed into the personal accounts of senior police officials. (Those villas in Dubai can be expensive!).

Read News Reports:

"UN investigation finds corruption in Afghan police oversight division", Thomson Reuters Foundation, April 19, 2015.
www.trust.org/item/20150419043015-b3w06/

Additional Resources about LOFTA:

Ministry of Finance Afghanistan Explanation of LOFTA
United Nations Development Program - LOFTA
Bahum Newsletter - LOFTA Monthly Newsletter

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

ATP 3-39.20 Police Intelligence Operations

Headquarters, Department of the Army has released Police Intelligence Operations, ATP 3-39.20, April 2015. This manual could be valuable to those advisors who are working with the Afghan National Police, the National Directorate of Security, Operational Coordination Center (OCCs), or the various intelligence agencies of the Ministry of Interior or the Ministry of Defense.

Chapters:
Police Intelligence Foundation
Integration into the Operations Process
Police Information Sources
Police Information Analysis
Production and Dissemination

Some of the content includes info on incident maps, link analysis, association matrix, time-event charts, targeting methodology, source reliability code, and more. The manual, an Adobe Acrobat PDF, can be read online or downloaded from the Army's publication portal.
http://armypubs.army.mil/doctrine/DR_pubs/dr_a/pdf/atp3_39x20.pdf

Other manuals, papers, reports, and publications about police intelligence that may be useful to the police advisor in Afghanistan can be found at the website link below.
www.specialforcestraining.info/intel/le-police-intelligence-pubs.htm

Friday, December 19, 2014

EU Extends Police Mission

The Council of the European Union has extended the mandate of the European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan until December 31, 2016 - for two more years. It also approved a budget of 58 million Euros for the mission for the year 2015. EUPOL Afghanistan will support the efforts of the Government of Afghanistan to strengthen its civilian police service, improve the rule of law framework, and uphold human rights. Read more in a  news report by Khaama Press, December 18, 2014.

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Book - "Worth Dying For"

Terry Gould, an investigative reporter from Canada, has wrote a book entitled "Worth Dying For". The book is about a unit of the Canadian police who work overseas as civilian police advisors. The program is run by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Thousands of Canadian police have worked overseas in areas such as Afghanistan, Haiti, Palestine, etc. helping to advise and support local police departments in conflict prone areas. The author views these police trainers as humanitarian idealists who believe in their mission to mentor police in the universal principles of civilized law enforcement. Read the book review in "B.C. journalist Terry Gould offers an intimate portrait of idealism amid war and devastation", The Vancouver Sun, November 28, 2014. The book is available on Amazon.com.

Monday, December 1, 2014

Kabul Police Chief Replaced

Kabul has seen a string of high-profile attacks in the past two weeks. It is apparent that the Taliban are ignoring the traditional end of fighting season routine as they have stepped up the attacks quite a bit. The Kabul police chief, General Zahir, has resigned (or maybe he was fired). The new police chief is General Abdul Rahman Rahimi, who was the Balkh Provincial Chief of Police (PCoP). This will surely change the political landscape of Balkh province! Read news reports on the Kabul Police Chief: Gandhara Blog, Radio Free Europe, NBC NewsReuters.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Attacks Against Police Continue

The insurgents continue to attack the Afghan police. One of the favorite types of attack is the use of suicide bombers - a tactic very difficult to defeat; especially in an urban setting. Read more in "Attacks on Afghan police challenge security environment", UPI, November 10, 2104.

Monday, November 10, 2014

General Abdul Raziq

Kandahar is much safer now than several years ago. At one time the Taliban reigned supreme in the streets. But an Afghan police official (some say warlord) has tamed the city to an acceptable level. This security comes at a cost - in corruption, human rights, and governance. The police chief, Lt. Gen. Abdul Raziq, has ensured a degree of security within the city and some of the surrounding areas; however, some of his actions (and those of his police and private security force) are fueling the insurgency at the same time. Read more in "Powerful Afghan Police Chief Puts Fear in Taliban and Their Enemies", The New York Times, November 8, 2014.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan

A major part of the professionalization of the Afghan National Police (ANP) is due in part to the European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan or EUPOL Afghanistan.

"The aim of the European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan (EUPOL Afghanistan), launched in summer 2007, is to contribute to the establishment of a sustainable and effective civilian police, which works together with the Afghan justice system to improve the local population's safety. The mission monitors, mentors, advises and trains at the level of senior management of the Afghan Ministry of Interior, Afghan Ministry of Justice, Afghan Attorney General's Office, in Kabul and in several regions." 

Learn more about EUPOL Afghanistan at this link:
www.eupol-afg.eu

Monday, October 27, 2014

Story on Woman Police Advisor from India

There are a lot of countries providing advisors to Afghanistan. India is one of them. Shakti Devi, is a female police inspector from India serving with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). She was awarded the 2014 International Female Peacekeeper Award for her "Exceptional Achievements". Read more in "From village girl to international peacekeeper", Thomson Reuters Foundation, October 22, 2014.

Friday, October 17, 2014

UNDP Can't Find $200 Million for LOTFA

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) is responsible for administering the Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA). A recent investigation by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) finds that there is $200 million that was taken from the LOFTA fund by the Ministry of Interior that is unaccounted for. SIGAR has sent a letter to Helen Clark (admistrator of the UNDP) asking for clarification. The UNDP has had a troubled past in administering and providing oversight on the billions of dollars given by member nations to LOFTA; and it seems that poor performance is continuing . . . as well as Afghan corruption. The Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan is used to support police remunerations, police infrastructure, and police capacity development. The money is provided by the international community - funneled through the UNDP into the LOFTA fund - and then given to the Afghans for "national execution". That means we give the money to the Afghans so they can develop their programs, budgets and execution plans. Sure . . . that sounds good . . . it helps develop "institutional capacity" and "organizational capability". But there is a "BIG BUT"; there should be some rigorous oversight to ensure the Afghan crooks don't run off with the money. And that is something that the United Nations, the international community at large, and ISAF have failed at miserably through the years. There is a horrendous lack of oversight to ensure that crooks (like Karzai) don't run off to Dubai with suitcases filled with greenbacks. Read more in this story in "UN agency blamed after hundreds of millions diverted from Afghan fund", Fox News, October 16, 2014.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Kentucky Guard Trains Afghan Army in RC North

Photo LTJG Bryan Mitchell Jan 2014
Members of the Kentucky National Guard are training Afghan Soldiers at Camp Marmal in Regional Command North (RC North). They are part of the Kentucky National Guard 1103rd Military Police Detachment. Many of the military police units belonging to the Army National Guard are also members of the civilian police and law enforcement community. There are many observers and critics who feel that the training of the Afghan National Police (ANP) fell way behind the training of the Afghan National Army (ANA). That is considered by some as one of the most likely of the reasons that the ANA is considered a professional institution when compared to the corrupt and mostly ineffective ANP. When the Army deployed its initial Security Force Assistance Advisory Teams (SFAAT) in early 2012 many of these teams were assigned to advise and assist the Afghan Uniform Police (AUP) in the district centers. However, most of the SFAATs did not have the one Military Policeman assigned as required by ISAF Joint Command (IJC); in fact most of the SFAAT advisor teams had no one with a military police background. The SFAATs advising the police were supposed to have four Embedded Police Mentors (EPMs) but many would only have one or two. This was a shortfall that could have been readily corrected with the addition of some U.S. Army National Guard police members but . . .  it didn't happen. Some counterinsurgency experts consider the police to be the tip of the spear in the fight against an insurgency but this principle of COIN was largely ignored by the International Security Assistance Command. Read more in "Kentucky National Guardsmen train Afghan soldiers", DVIDS, January 31, 2014.

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Flat Tires in Kabul - Good Police Work?

There has been a rash of flat tires in Kabul. Turns out it is the Afghan police enforcing a parking ban against parking on the street. Read more in "Punctured Tires in Kabul are the Work of Police, not Punks", NPR Parallels, January 20, 2014.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Who Is Minding the Store? Afghan Police Not Paid for Months

A staff writer for the Christian Science Monitor took note of the New York Times article on the non-payment of some 150,000 Afghan police for a couple of months. While we all know that the Afghan ministries are inept and corrupt one has to wonder who is supposed to be watching the Afghans to make sure our money is going where it is supposed to. Perhaps we need some accountants over there to chase the money. According to the Times article the first that ISAF knew about the non-payment of almost all of the police across the country (some not paid since October) was when a reporter asked ISAF about the problem. Hmmm, let's hope that is not a true statement. See "How inept is Afghanistan's government?", Christian Science Monitor, January 13, 2014.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Afghan Police Cadets Complete Training in Turkey

Almost 500 police cadets returned from a six-month long training program a the Sivas Police Training Centre for Afghanistan (SPTC-A) in Turkey. The Sivas initiative is jointly supported by UNDP's Law and Order Trust Fund for Afghanistan (LOTFA) and the NTM-A - as well as with monetary contributions from Turkey and Japan. While at SPTC-A the cadets receive training in basic and advanced police training programmes in civilian policing such as rule of law, maintaining law and order, and protecting human safety. Read more in "Afghan Police Cadets Return From Training in Turkey", UNDP, November 29, 2013.

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Traffic Police and Corruption

A look at how corruption works in the traffic department is indicative of the problem of corruption at large in Afghan society. Corruption takes place in Afghanistan at all levels and comes in all sizes. One reason the government enjoys very little support from the Afghan population is the large-scale corruption found in all government offices. Some Afghans feel a return to Taliban rule would be better than living under the current government. Read more in "To cut Afghan red tape, bribery is the norm", The Washington Post, February 17, 2013.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

U.S. Police Advisory Team (PAT) Members Talk About Training AUP

Police mentors from Task Force Centurion have developed strong mentor-mentee relationships while working on a Police Advisory Team or PAT. While the Soldiers were training for their Afghan deployment in the states the 'green-on-blue' incidents were hitting their peak; so there was a little apprehension about their mission. Their job is to advise the Afghan Uniformed Police (AUP) Quick Reaction Force in Kabul. Read more on their mission in "Police mentors share their thoughts of Afghanistan deployment", DVIDS, February 24, 2013.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Afghan Democratic Policing Project (ADPP)

The Afghan Democratic Policing Project (ADPP) is being implemented by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) with US $4.5 million funding provided by the Government of Netherlands. The 3-year project will support Afghanistan's Police-e-Mardumi (also known as community police) and the UNDP's Women Police Mentoring Programme.

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Australian Police Assist in Building Target Data in Afghanistan

"AUSTRALIAN police in Afghanistan have helped compile secret intelligence files on insurgent leaders later targeted in capture-or-kill missions by special forces soldiers. The Pentagon has confirmed that Australian Federal Police officers are ''assigned to work with'' a joint police task force in Kabul that produces files used by military commanders to "shape the battlefield" - a term often used to describe the capture-or-kill raids mounted by elite troops in Afghanistan." 
Read the rest of the article in "Australian police share intelligence on insurgent leaders", Sydney Morning Herald, December 27, 2010.