POLICE TO LOSE CIVIL SERVICE STATUS AND GAIN

UNCLAS ALGIERS 002256

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV ASEC AG
SUBJECT: POLICE TO LOSE CIVIL SERVICE STATUS AND GAIN
SALARIES, BENEFITS, AND PRESTIGE


SALARIES, BENEFITS TO BE ON PAR WITH OTHER SECURITY FORCES
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1. (U) Head of the National Police Ali Tounsi announced
November 5 the next phase of the National Program for Police
Development, which aims at improving the work conditions and
overall situation of police. The Program, originally
envisioned as necessary to bolstering recruitment, which was
in severe deficit with respect to national need during the
terrorism years of the 1990s, aims at putting an end to
abuses within the ranks, cleaning up the image of the police,
and improving work conditions. The public is increasingly
concerned by rising crime, and the professionalization and
hiring of police is in part a response to those concerns. In
this latest phase, the police will no longer be part of the
civil service, according to press reports of Tounsi's
remarks. Tounsi added that police will begin earning
salaries and benefits commensurate with the other security
forces, such as the army and the national gendarmerie.
Without civil service protections, though, the police will
also be more accountable to the public. Under the Program,
the police are expected to expand their mandate from large
urban areas in favor of smaller communities and rural areas
with the goal of creating greater national uniformity of
police protection for all Algerians. The police, Tounsi
stressed, will still remain under the authority of the
Ministry of Interior.

HOUSING ALLOWANCES AND NEW HOUSING UNITS PLANNED FOR POLICE
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2. (U) While the amount of salary increase is unclear,
Embassy police contacts and media sources predict that it
will be significant, if not considerable. The cost to state
coffers could also be hefty, since under the Program the
ranks of police are expected to grow to 200,000 officers by
2009, up from approximately 120,000 today. In addition to
unspecified salary allowances for housing, officers are also
expected to benefit in 2006 from the construction of
exclusive housing for police and their families. These
changes in housing benefits will require Parliament's
approval of the new budget. The entire financial and reform
package would not have been possible absent the support of
President Bouteflika, who firmly supports its elements,
according to Tounsi.

INCREASE IN MORALE EXPECTED TO FOLLOW
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3. (SBU) The morale of Algerian police, according to police
sources who spoke to the Embassy on the condition of
anonymity, has traditionally been low due in large part to
humiliating work conditions, squad cars in poor condition,
low salaries, and insufficient pensions. Unlike the army,
according to these sources, police officers do not benefit
from state-provided lodging or a lodging stipend and often
earn only 13,000 AD per month ($110),even though the police
are on the front lines of confronting rioters, the ills of
society and social tensions in general. According to press
reports, the morale of police officers gathered around Tounsi
at the time of his announcement jumped sharply as they
welcomed the news.

ERDMAN