Rudolfo Landeros discusses improvements in capacity within the Sierra Leone Police with aid from the United Nations. He begins by discussing the challenges faced by the police, including logistical and budgetary constraints, and shortcomings in officer training. He reflects on the problem of discipline and accountability in the police, and discusses both internal accountability mechanisms as well as steps in the direction of creating an external oversight authority. He lauds the creation and performance of an unarmed Crowd Control Unit through the training of trainers within the police, and the success in policing the 2007 elections. He also speaks about the prevention of sexual harassment and discrimination within the police. Finally, he reflects on U.N. Police operations, and he argues that the operations would be improved by more extensive induction training, longer deployments for management and budgetary autonomy for non-executive departments.
Full Interview
At the time of this interview, Rudolfo Landeros was senior police adviser at the United Nations Integrated Office in Sierra Leone. Prior to that, he spent more than 24 years at the Austin, Texas, police department, where his positions included assistant chief of police.