Afghan, coalition officials to adjust police strategy

AFGHANISTAN

08.30.2007

Story by Tech. Sgt. Cortchie Welch 

NATO Training Mission Afghanistan

by Tech. Sgt. Cortchie Welch
Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan Public Affairs

CAMP EGGERS, Afghanistan – Coalition forces and their Afghan counterparts recently wrapped up a two-day workshop focused on reforming policing at the grass roots level – the community.

More than 50 officials from the Afghan Ministry of the Interior, national police and the international community assembled Aug. 27 and 28 to craft a new strategy designed to strengthen police operations in the provincial districts by spring 2008.

Officials and mentors from the Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan, NATO's International Security Assistance Force, and European Union Police representatives attended the conference to offer their ideas and opinions on this new concept.

One of the objectives of the conference dubbed "Focused District Development Strategy Workshop" was to start the process of reorganizing and setting up model police districts to fill security vacuums across the country.

"The police district is the pillar for which the ANP rests upon," said Army Maj. Gen. Robert W. Cone, commanding general of the CSTC-A, which hosted the conference. "We want to build a model to be used elsewhere. The end-state is to improve policing in the districts before next spring."

The meeting included discussions on how the model police district should look, how it should operate and the time line for setting up one. Once fully operational, the goal is for reformed police districts to perform law enforcement and counterinsurgency duties independent of external assistance, other than in extreme circumstances.

Each district will be different based on training requirements, the number of qualified police officers, leaders, and equipment and security requirements.

"This does not replace community policing," said Army Col. Mike McMahon, director of the Force Integration and Training Division for CSTC-A, who helped organize the workshop. "It's a temporary reinforcement of community policing. We want to concentrate the police mentoring team on that district."

Chief Superintendent Bill Morrell, director of mentors with the EUPOL-Afghanistan, said the purpose of the conference was to establish dialogs to help Afghanistan develop civilian policing skills capable of spreading the rule of law in the face of insurgency. He also said it's imperative that a uniformed police force is respected and trusted by the population in order to establish and retain public confidence.

"The ANP is a key component in restoring peace in the country and counterinsurgency operations," Morrell said. "The community has to have confidence in its police force that's able to uphold the law in a fair and impartial way."

Army Col. Mike Glenn, chief of program development and integration for CSTC-A, said many agencies are involved in supporting MoI's role in providing security for the Afghan people, but stressed the need for a unified development plan.

"Right now, we're spread out and efforts are somewhat diffused," Glenn said. "One of the purposes of this workshop is to build consensus among the key stakeholders so that we can concentrate our collective resources and allow the various agencies to march to the same beat."

Afghan Maj. Gen. Gul Nabi, MoI's chief of training, said the workshop assured him that the coalition is on the right track with the training and equipping of the Afghan national security forces.

"The international community has an idea of what the people of Afghanistan need and the understanding on how they can provide that," Nabi said.

• Date Taken: 08.30.2007
• Date Posted: 08.30.2007 11:54
• Story ID: 12068
• Location: AF