integration and amalgamation

Robert Bradley

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I
Focus Area(s)
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2
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Arthur Boutellis
Name
Robert Bradley
Interviewee's Position
Interim Component Manager, Safety and Security
Interviewee's Organization
Justice Sector Development Programme
Language
English
Town/City
Freetown
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract
Robert Bradley details his past policing experiences and discusses his role as the manager of the Justice Sector Development Programme in the security sector reform in Sierra Leone. Bradley outlines the program's priorities: supporting the Complaints, Discipline, Internal Investigation Department to build capacity, working with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the inspector general of police, and encouraging police partnership boards at the grassroots level, where the community can hold the police accountable. Oversight agencies like the press, the courts, and non-governmental organizations also engaged in monitoring police activities. Bradley also highlights policing lessons drawn from his past experiences in Australia, Cambodia, Cyprus, Mozambique and other locales. He advises international organizations that are offering reform assistance to partner with locals who have knowledge of their country’s systems and laws. In the area of capacity building, he urges such organizations to design and develop training programs within the country, because people are more likely to accept homegrown solutions, and the outcomes last longer. 
 
Profile

At the time of this interview, Robert Bradley was the interim component manager ofsafety and security at the Justice Sector Development Programme in Freetown, Sierra Leone. His career in policing began in 1966 when he joined the former Australian Capital Territory police. In 1967, he was drafted into the army and he served in Vietnam. On his return to Australia in 1969, Bradley was reappointed to the ACT police. He participated in community policing in Jervis Bay and later, he worked on criminal investigations and in the Juvenile Aid Bureau. Bradley also served in the general policing division, which dealt primarily with positions related to United Nations work such as recruitment and training of officers for overseas deployment. He was a part of the U.N. missions to Cyprus, Cambodia and Mozambique. In 1995, Bradley resigned from the police force and set up police training programs in Bosnia, Eastern Slovenia, Mongolia and other areas.  

Full Audio File Size
63 MB
Full Audio Title
Robert Bradley - Full Interview

Agathe Florence Lele

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F
Focus Area(s)
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1
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Arthur Boutellis
Name
Agathe Florence Lele
Interviewee's Position
Senior Police Adviser
Interviewee's Organization
United Nations Integrated Mission in Burundi
Language
French
Nationality of Interviewee
Cameroonian
Town/City
Bujumbura
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract
Agathe Lele comments on the originality of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Burundi, where the police unit was part of the SSR/SA unit; in most other peacekeeping missions, the police adviser responds directly to the SRSG/head of mission. One major achievement was the adoption of a new organizational chart for the Burundi National Police in September 2007, with new  commissariats to coordinate different police services at the regional level. She describes some of the mission's other programs of support: equipment and training, uniforms, communication at regional levels, databases for personnel and crimes, sensitization on gender, programs with intelligence service and general inspection.  Some of the greatest challenges, according to Lele, stemmed from a young police force that grew quickly due to the integration process, citing the vetting that would take place under the Truth and Reconciliation Committee.  Lele also addresses some of the issues related to bilateral cooperation.
Profile

Agathe Florence Lele graduated from the Cameroon police academy in 1980, worked for 14 years in the intelligence unit, attended training in France in 2000 and 2005, served as a member of the Interpol executive committee from 2003 to 2006, and became the director of training in Cameroon during 2006-2007. At the time of this interview, she was the senior police adviser with the United Nations Integrated Mission in Burundi, a post that she began in June 2007.

Full Audio File Size
72 MB
Full Audio Title
Agathe Lele - Full Interview

Peter F. Zaizay

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J
Focus Area(s)
Ref Batch Number
18
Critical Tasks
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Arthur Boutellis
Name
Peter F. Zaizay
Interviewee's Position
Deputy Minister for Administration and Acting Minister for National Security
Interviewee's Organization
Liberia
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
Liberian
Town/City
Monrovia
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract
Peter F. Zaizay gives a detailed account of the post-war reforms and the restructuring of the Liberian National Police (LPN). He discusses how the 2003 Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement gave the United Nations the mandate to carry out the reforms. The U.N. Police were predominantly involved in deactivating the LNP and recruiting new officers after vetting, and were also engaged in training the police and  developing community policing forums. Zaizay recounts the challenges faced during the process: the large number of unskilled and unemployed youth who contributed to a rise in crime, gender-based violence, armed robbery within communities that lacked private security, the expected return of the huge refugee population abroad that posed a potential security threat, and the issue of whether or not the LNP would be accepted and respected by the locals after the U.N. left. Zaizay also talks about the government’s plans to integrate and amalgamate security institutions due to overlapping functions among organizations and the lack of sufficient funds to run them. He describes the history of politicization of the security service and the lack of established mechanisms for depoliticization. He emphasizes the need for an independent and professional civilian oversight board. As a result of the reforms, ethnic balance within the LNP was attained and a protection section for women and children was established. Zaizay stresses the importance of learning from other countries like Sierra Leone, Ghana and Uganda to find out how they have managed to transform their police services.
 
Profile

At the time of this interview, Peter F. Zaizay was Liberia's deputy minister for administration and the acting minister for national security. He began his career in private security in 1986. He worked with the Jascere Security Services. In 1992, Zaizay joined the Liberian National Police, and he worked in the Patrol Division, the Criminal Investigation Division and the Criminal Intelligence Unit. He also served as an assistant director of police for press and public affairs from 2004 to 2006. Later, he became the deputy director of police for training and then the commandant of the National Police Training Academy, a position he held from 2006 to 2007.

Full Audio File Size
39MB
Audio Subsections
Size
63MB
Title
Peter F. Zaizay Interview Part 2
Full Audio Title
Peter F. Zaizay Interview Part 1

Knut Walter

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M
Focus Area(s)
Ref Batch Number
11
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Flor Hunt
Name
Knut Walter
Interviewee's Position
President
Interviewee's Organization
Accreditation Commission of El Salvador
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
El Salvadoran
Town/City
San Salvador
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract

Knut Walter gives a sociological and historical account of the militarization of Salvadoran political life, even under civilian rule, culminating in the civil war.  He describes the peace accords and ensuing reforms as a process of demilitarization of the police and reassignment of the armed forces to a very limited national security role.  He praises the design of the National Civil Police and its commitment to training, high levels of education and curricular emphasis on human rights. Walter identifies a need to improve investigations, given the low national sentencing rates coupled with the highest homicide rates in Latin America.  However, he rejects the argument that the army was any more effective in containing violence in decades past through zero-tolerance policies.  He attributes the high homicide rates to structural causes that must be addressed, including widespread availability of weapons, ambiguous property rights and social vulnerability brought on by migration.  Walter then discusses the proliferation of private security firms in El Salvador as a result of the culture of violence during the war years and as a possible strategy for integration of ex-combatants into the work force, but he denies any conflict of spheres of competence with the National Civil Police.

Profile

At the time of this interview, Knut Walter was president of the Accreditation Commission of El Salvador.  He earned a doctorate in history and held academic posts at Jose Simeon Cañas Central American University for 23 years.  He was a fellow at the New York Social Science Research Council, and he served as director of graduate programs at the Latin American University of Social Sciences in Guatemala.

Full Audio File Size
51MB
Full Audio Title
Knut Walter Interview

Carlos Humberto Vargas García

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M
Focus Area(s)
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3
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Flor Hunt
Name
Carlos Humberto Vargas García
Interviewee's Position
Chief of Studies
Interviewee's Organization
National Academy of Public Security, El Salvador
Language
Spanish
Nationality of Interviewee
El Salvadoran
Place (Building/Street)
National Academy of Public Security
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract
Carlos Humberto Vargas García describes the challenges of establishing a police academy in El Salvador after the Peace Accords of 1992.  He begins by explaining the recruitment and training process, the academic-degree requirements for candidates, and the quota system.  Challenges that he faced in training the police force include lack of resources, internal administrative issues and lingering resentment between the former warring factions.  He describes the usefulness of his training with ICITAP (the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program), the role of donor countries, the training curriculum, community policing and the importance of having an integrated police. He contends that while it is important to receive aid and training from multiple countries,  international donors should not impose preconditions, as they are not familiar with the local reality. 
Profile

At the time of this interview, Carlos Humberto Vargas García was the chief of studies at the National Academy of Public Security in El Salvador, an institution separate from the national police. From 1992 to 1995, he was the first sub-director of the academy, and he trained in the U.S. and Central America with ICITAP, the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program. He also worked in the private sector, in other universities in El Salvador as a professor of engineering, and for the Instituto Salvadoreño de Formación Profesional, which is in charge of non-formal education.

Full Audio File Size
84.5MB
Full Audio Title
Vargas Garcia Interview

Astor Escalante Saravia

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M
Focus Area(s)
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1
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Flor Hunt
Name
Astor Escalante Saravia
Interviewee's Position
Vice Minister of Public Security and Justice
Interviewee's Organization
El Salvador
Language
Spanish
Nationality of Interviewee
El Salvadoran
Place (Building/Street)
Ministry of Public Security
Town/City
San Salvador
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract

Astor Escalante Saravia explains the internal development of the Ministry of Public Security in El Salvador, which oversees all pertinent branches, including the National Civil Police and the National Academy for Public Security.  He describes a multi-player approach to institutional reform that involves the National Council on Security and Peace, UNDP, and a number of NGOs that specialize in crime prevention and rehabilitation for former gang members.  While recent reforms have been successful, he says, lack of resources remains a challenge. Concerning the National Civil Police, Saravia identifies three areas for improvement. The first has to do with the failure of the current model to insulate police officers who work within their own communities from risks and ties to the criminals that operate in the same turf. The second critical issue involves corruption.  He emphasizes the role of perception, and highlights the large impact of small measures like changing the uniforms of the Transit Police to increase accountability.  The third issue concerns proper police conduct and the problem of police brutality, which he says is being addressed nationwide by virtual training based on case studies.

Profile

At the time of this interview, Astor Escalante Saravia was El Salvador's vice minister of public security and justice, a post he held since 2006.  He was the director of the penitentiary system in 2005, after working for eight years in the National Public Prosecutor’s office as a prosecutor and chief prosecutor.  Previously he served as an adviser to the Ministry of Government, which oversaw the security sector until the Ministry of Public Security was created with a mandate to govern the police and associated agencies.

Full Audio File Size
72MB
Full Audio Title
Astor Escalante Saravia Interview

Robin Campbell

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A
Focus Area(s)
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3
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Daniel Scher
Name
Robin Campbell
Interviewee's Position
Former Chief Superintendent
Interviewee's Organization
Police Service of Northern Ireland
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
Northern Ireland
Town/City
Belfast
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract

Robin Campbell relates his experience in working for police reform in Sierra Leone, Nigeria and other countries.  He covers topics including recruitment and vetting, as well as the challenges of integrating and amalgamating different security forces with varying histories and organizational cultures into a new civilian police force.  He also covers the role of nonstate security actors in developing countries and reflects on the difficulty of forging and managing a productive relationship between these groups and the official police force.  He illuminates his experience in the developing world with reflections on the transformation of the Royal Ulster Constabulary into today's Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Case Study:  Cooling Ethnic Conflict Over a Heated Election: Guyana, 2001-2006

Profile

At the time of this interview, Robin Campbell was a consultant for both public and private-sector organizations undergoing structural change, with a particular emphasis on police services in developing countries. He previously was the deputy change manager and director of corporate development responsible for the implementation of the Patten Commission recommendations for the police in Northern Ireland.  The Patten recommendations guided the 10-year process of police reform that saw the Royal Ulster Constabulary transformed into the Police Service of Northern Ireland.  Campbell served as the chief superintendent of the police service before launching his own consultancy.  He worked in many countries in the developing world.

Full Audio File Size
43 MB
Full Audio Title
Robin Campbell - Full Interview

José Hugo Granadino Mejía

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M
Focus Area(s)
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7
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Flor Hunt
Name
José Hugo Granadino Mejía
Interviewee's Position
Chief, Professional Training Unit
Interviewee's Organization
National Police of El Salvador
Language
Spanish
Nationality of Interviewee
El Salvadoran
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract
José Hugo Granadino Mejía begins by describing the process of integrating various factions into the police, and he recounts fears (that never materialized) that members of formerly opposing sides would kill each other. He gives details about the curriculum used during police training at the academy, about the entry quota system and about the academic degree requirements for new recruits. He describes in detail the promotion system within the police force and the way in which the police incorporated new ideas and procedures. Relations with donor countries are also discussed, and he gives great importance to the financial and technical support that the police force received from the international community.
Profile

At the time of this interview, José Hugo Granadino Mejía was chief of the professional training unit of the National Police of El Salvador. A lawyer and notary, he in 1993 became one of the first professors at the National Academy of Public Security (Academia Nacional de Seguridad Pública), an institution separate from the National Police. He also served as director of study and later as director general of the academy, and he worked as a professor of law at the Universidad de El Salvador for 25 years and at the Universidad Tecnológica de El Salvador.

Full Audio File Size
117MB
Full Audio Title
Jose Granadino Mejía Interview (Spanish)

Ekaterine Tkeshelashvili

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Q
Focus Area(s)
Ref Batch Number
8
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Matthew Devlin
Name
Ekaterine Tkeshelashvili
Interviewee's Position
International Security Adviser
Interviewee's Organization
National Security Council, Republic of Georgia
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
Georgian
Town/City
Tbilisi
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract
Eka Tkeshelashvili describes police reforms in Georgia. Shortly after it assumed power, the reform government fired the entire traffic police force because of rampant corruption.  Few serious consequences flowed from this decision, though some of those discharged may have joined criminal groups.  She says that the high level of organized crime and paramilitary activity that afflicted Georgia in the early 1990s was more or less under control. In rebuilding the police force, she says, the government recruited candidates with the proper credentials and training, and pay levels were increased significantly. The Police Academy was equipped with more up-to-date facilities and curricula. Prison facilities were reformed and human rights for prisoners gained improved protection.  Police management was decentralized.  External oversight of police activity and of the prisons was improved, and the public was given new ways to report and comment on police performance.
 
Profile
At the time of this interview, Eka Tkeshelashvili was the international security adviser to Georgia's National Security Council. For the last half of 2008, she served as Georgia’s foreign minister. Earlier that year, she was prosecutor general. In 2006 and 2007, she headed the Tbilisi Court of Appeals.  In 2007, she was minister of justice. She first joined the government in 2005 and served as deputy minister of interior. She graduated from the Faculty of International Law and International Relations at Tbilisi State University in 1999.
Full Audio File Size
41MB
Full Audio Title
Eka Tkeshelashvili Interview

Mark Kroeker

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A
Focus Area(s)
Ref Batch Number
11
Critical Tasks
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Gordon Peake
Name
Mark Kroeker
Interviewee's Position
Former Police Commissioner
Interviewee's Organization
United Nations
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
United States
Town/City
New York
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
Yes
Abstract

Mark Kroeker, the former head of policing for the United Nations, draws on his experiences on policing missions in Liberia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Haiti and other countries. He talks about the challenges of recruitment and other key functions after years of war have destroyed the institutional fabric of a society. He details the importance of anti-corruption strategies that focus on the positive aspects of integrity rather than the negatives of corruption, and he reflects on the immense challenges posed by vetting in low-information environments.  Kroeker also shares thoughts on mechanisms for integrating different factions into a unified police service.

Case Study:  Building Civilian Police Capacity: Post-Conflict Liberia, 2003-2011

Profile

Mark Kroeker served as the civilian police adviser in the United Nations' Department of Peacekeeping Operations, the top policing post in the U.N.  His other U.N. posts included that of police commissioner for the U.N.'s mission in Liberia and deputy commissioner of operations for the U.N. International Police Task Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina.  He was also chief of police in Portland, Oregon, and consulted for the U.S. Department of Justice in Haiti.  He was also a member of U.S. police development projects in Rwanda and Burundi.  He came to international policing after a 32-year career with the police department of Los Angeles, California.
 

Full Audio File Size
32 MB
Audio Subsections
Size
2MB
Title
Mark Kroeker on Recruitment
Full Audio Title
Mark Kroeker - Full Interview