PRT/BAMYAN: Can Bamyan Law Enforcement Reform?

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 000205

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SA/FO, SA/A, S/CR, EUR/RPM
NSC FOR AMEND AND HARRIMAN
OSD FOR BREZEZINSKI
REL NATO/AUST/NZ/ISAF
CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958 N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM SOCI AF
SUBJECT: PRT/BAMYAN: Can Bamyan Law Enforcement Reform?
(Part 2 of 2)

REF: 06 Kabul 0025 (Opium Burn)
05 Kabul 5268 (Bamyan Development Conference)
05 Kabul 4905 (ANP, Governor Tension)


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: New Zealand is providing a crucial
lifeline to Bamyan law enforcement, but needs more U.S.
support for their efforts to take hold. NZ commitments in
expertise and infrastructure appear to be making progress,
but could yield stronger results with targeted U.S.
assistance, namely, through construction of a permanent
police training center. This is the second cable in a two-
part series on Bamyan's beleaguered law enforcement
apparatus. END SUMMARY.

New Zealand Taking Principal Role in Police Training
-------------- --------------


2. (U) New Zealand does most of the heavy lifting, in terms
of human resources, to support Bamyan's nascent law
enforcement structures. The NZ Police are the main drivers
behind the current, temporary police training center,
located on the adjoining PRT compound. Since the Regional
Police Training Center (RTC) opened its doors in 2004, NZ
Police (together with INL-funded Dyncorp personnel) have
provided instruction to 493 ANP officers drawn from Bamyan,
Dai Kundi, Kapisa, Parwan, and Panjshir Provinces. NZ and
Dyncorp have trained 193 officers in a 5-week course (for
illiterate police),129 police in an 8-week course (for
literate police),and 171 officers in officers' training.


3. (U) One key characteristic of the New Zealand approach
is the long attention span they devote to trainees --
training is a continuum, which does not stop at the compound
gates. New Zealand has brought in additional NZ Police
inspectors who provide mobile training by imbedding
themselves into NZ military patrols, which venture out into
the Province for weeks at a time. The imbedded police
officers work closely with district chiefs of police to
conduct needs assessments and refresher training for
policemen who have attended RTC courses, as well as
providing in-service training to the RTC's local managers.
New Zealand encourages such managers to attend Central
Training Centre (CTC) courses in Kabul, such as the recent
armory and live-firing training taken by one local
instructor. As one NZ inspector explained, "We want to work
ourselves out of a job. The sooner local staff can pick up
the program unaided, the better."

On the Front Line in Providing Infrastructure
-------------- -


4. (U) New Zealand support for law enforcement extends to
bricks and mortar as well. U.S. Army Civil Affairs intended
to build new police stations throughout Bamyan, until new
rules prohibited CERP funds from being used to assist the
ANP. NZ AID picked up the proposal, and will spend $1.3
million in 2006 to construct police stations in five
districts in Bamyan. (NOTE: NZ has refrained from making
any commitments in Bamyan City, due to the USG commitment to
build a police station/training center in 2005. END NOTE)
The NZ PRT has also funded and built nine police checkpoints
for the ANP throughout Bamyan Province (one of which began
the chain of events leading to seizure of 1.9 tons of opium,
ref B),and has provided weapons (225 AK-47s),ammunition
(20,250 rounds),communications (200 Motorola radios)
vehicle repair, uniforms, and boots.


5. (U) The Kiwis do not give Bamyan law enforcement a blank
check, however, and make every effort to limit the
development of dependencies within the local government. A
case in point is New Zealand's pending donation of seven
Hilux Toyota pickups, one for each ANP district, at a cost
of a little over USD 500,000. The vehicles all come with a
one-year maintenance contract, which includes funds to train
one ANP officer from each district in basic vehicle
maintenance. This should hopefully make it possible for the
ANP to support its new motorpool and thus extend its own
planning horizon.

RTC Renovations Give Hint of NZ Training Potential
-------------- --------------


6. (U) USG funding (approximately USD 110,000) of
desperately-needed additions to the temporary police
training center will soon pay dividends. Police training
center attendees currently sleep on a dirt floor at a local
mosque 5 km from the RTC, with no heat and barely any food.
(NOTE: Construction was slated for completion by the first
week of January, but difficulties shipping proper generators
and getting authorization to fund O&M for the center have
delayed final occupancy. END NOTE) Once construction of
living quarters, a kitchen, shower and toilet block, and an
additional classroom are complete, NZ Police intend to
double the RTC course load, offering additional training for
both new and recurring students and a more comprehensive, 13-
week basic training course. NZ Police also will be able to
offer live firearms training with the larger compound and
second classroom.

Promising First Steps . . .
--------------


7. (SBU) New Zealand's efforts with the police appear to be
gaining traction. Deputy Chief of Police Malik (with
considerable help) is auditing existing ANP resources in
Bamyan for the first time. ANP leadership, through this
inventory exercise, recently discovered that fuel delivery
trucks have been siphoning off between 4 and 500 liters of
fuel per truckload. More encouraging (and surprising),the
ANP hired nine women police officers for the first time in
December, inducting its very first female officer on
December 29 (the other eight are in Kabul for training).
Malik told PRTOff at the new officer's induction that "a
woman governor (HE Habiba Sarabi) has done great good for
us. Women police will do even more."

. . . Could be Even More With Additional Infrastructure
-------------- --------------


8. (U) NZ Police would like to make these small successes
the norm, rather than the exception, but current
infrastructure cannot support this. Cases requiring more
developed investigations and crime scene assessment remain
beyond the reach of Bamyan's law enforcement, and waiting
for over-tasked experts from Kabul to conduct basic crime
scene analysis, fingerprinting, and witness development
takes time. New Zealand police believe this is easily
remedied through more comprehensive training, both to police
and prosecutors. Comprehensive training, however, requires
permanent facilities. "The new renovations are a great
improvement, but it will take even more if we are to do the
jobs we are capable of," Inspector Geoff Hancock told us.


9. (SBU) Another common suggestion of NZ Police is that,
while RTCs across the country provide basic police
instruction and the CTC and GPPO give advanced training,
there is currently no middle ground. NZ Police argue,
therefore, that intermediate police training should be
developed. "Not just Bamyan, but the entire region, maybe
even the entire country, needs some bridge between basic
police training and (training at the) CTC. We would like a
permanent Bamyan RTC to be that bridge." Likewise, the NZ
Police hope to conduct training for the entire law
enforcement system, both ANP and Prosecution officers in
those areas where their investigation roles parallel.

Comment: An Opportunity
--------------


10. (SBU) Embassy decision makers are justifiably skeptical
about risking funds again in Bamyan after so much GOA
indecision on previous projects (albeit over the justifiable
topic of historic preservation). New Zealand, even while
experiencing similar frustrations in funding other projects,
has no such reservations. New Zealand is committed, both in
monetary and human resource terms, to helping Bamyan's law
enforcement apparatus become self-sufficient. NZ Police, NZ
AID, and NZ military all believe that a permanent RTC, one
smaller (and presumably less expensive),with a different
focus and scope than current RTCs, is crucial to that self-
sufficiency.

11. (SBU) The ANP's recent hiring of women police, due
largely to NZ efforts, shows that New Zealand can get
results. With significant capacity gaps and corruption
concerns, however, the window to influence law enforcement
remains small. Efforts are moving in the right direction,
but stand little chance of long-term success without U.S.
support. We owe it to ourselves, the Afghans, and our OEF
allies to support NZ efforts as fully as possible, and
explore ways to fund a smaller, different regional training
center.

NORLAND