internal management
Agathe Florence Lele
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.
Restoring Police Service with a Community Vision: Tanzania, 2006-2009
In 2006, Saidi Mwema, Tanzania's newly appointed Inspector General of Police, launched a long-term reform program that sought to address the rising incidence of crime, the negative public perception of the police, and the lack of police personnel and resources. The police service suffered from decades of financial neglect and a poor reputation. Its initial mandate emphasized regime policing, which oriented the police toward maintaining law and order for the protection of the state rather than the protection of the citizenry. On taking office, Mwema took bold steps to set a new tone for the police, including releasing the private telephone numbers of the police hierarchy and initiating investigations into suspected donors to the ruling Revolutionary State Party. He followed these initial reforms with a strategy-delineated by a "team of experts" comprising senior police officers and academics from the University of Dar es Salaam-to address the weaknesses of the police service. Though the reform process remained in its early stages in 2009, some progress was evident, primarily in the improved reputation of the police and more amicable relations between the police and the public. The case offers lessons for police services seeking to overcome poor reputations and community distrust through the adoption of a community-based ethos after decades of state-oriented policing.
Daniel Scher drafted this case study on the basis of interviews conducted in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in August 2009. Jonathan Friedman contributed.
Associated Interview(s): Lucas Kusima, Benson Bana, Semboja Haji, Sifuni Mchome
Ramchrisen Haveria
At the time of this interview, Ramchristen Haveria was the deputy district commander for the United Nations Integrated Mission in Baucau, Timor-Leste. He previously worked at the regional operations office in the Philippines. Also, he served concurrently as the station chief of the Police Community Relations Office and as the chief of the Internal Affairs Office. He also worked as the chief of the Drug Enforcement Unit and as the assistant chief of the Special Operations group. He was involved in U.N. missions in Timor-Leste and Kosovo.
Semboja Haji
At the time of this interview, Semboja Haji was a researcher at the Economic Research Bureau at the University of Dar es Salaam. Trained as an econometrician in Sweden and Norway, he later became a senior research fellow at the Economic and Social Research Foundation in Tanzania, where he worked for eight years. He helped develop the Tanzania 2025 Vision and Zanzibar 2020 Vision strategies, and had extensive experience advising the Tanzanian government in areas including national investment policy, energy policy, telecommunication, economic growth and poverty reduction.
Building the Police Service in a Security Vacuum: International Efforts in Kosovo, 1999-2011
Morgan Greene, Jonathan Friedman and Richard Bennet drafted this case study on the basis of interviews conducted in Priština and Mitrovica, Kosovo, in July 2011, as well as interviews conducted in Kosovo by Arthur Boutellis in July 2008. Case published February 2012.
Associated Interview(s): Shantnu Chandrawat, Julie Fleming, Iver Frigaard, Oliver Janser, Reshat Maliqi, Muhamet Musliu, Robert Perito, Behar Selimi, Riza Shillova, Mustafa Resat Tekinbas
José Hugo Granadino Mejía
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.
Astor Escalante Saravia
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.
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.
Building Strategic Capacity in the Police: Sierra Leone, 1998-2008
Sierra Leone’s police service had a reputation for abuse and corruption even before the 1991-2002 civil war that slashed its numbers by a third and all but destroyed its infrastructure. Taking office in 1996, President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah set a high priority on police reform to ensure stability for postwar reconstruction and economic development. The United Kingdom, acting through the Commonwealth, was the primary benefactor, providing equipment, trainers and even an inspector general to lead the service during the first years of reform. By 2008, the Sierra Leone police featured strong and capable senior leadership, improved capacity for criminal investigations, and a positive relationship with the Sierra Leonean public. Although concerns about the sustainability of these reforms and the feasibility of additional changes remained in 2008, the development of the Sierra Leone Police during the preceding decade was an example of successful post-conflict police reform in a West African state.
Jonathan Friedman wrote this policy note based on interviews by Arthur Boutellis in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in May 2008. Case published November 2011.
Associated Interview(s): Keith Biddle, Robert Bradley, Kadi Fakondo, Osman Gbla, Garry Horlacher, Adrian Horn, Sheka Mansaray
José Humberto Posada Sánchez
At the time of this interview, José Humberto Posada Sánchez was the legal adviser to the Office of General Management of the National Police of El Salvador (Policía Nacional Civil). This post involved providing legal counsel, writing legislation and implementing national legislation into the internal policy of the national police. He previously served as a member of Congress, ambassador to Guatemala, member of the Central American Parliament and adviser to the vice minister of citizen security after the Sub-Department for Citizen Security was created in 2002. He also worked on the Ley Orgánica de la Polícia Nacional Civil of 2002, national legislation that sought to strengthen the police force.