SIERRA LEONE LAW ENFORCEMENT AND JUDICIAL TRAINING

UNCLAS FREETOWN 000034

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR AF/W (JHUNTER),AF/RSA (CPOMMERER)
DEPT ALSO FOR INL/AAE (AALTON),DS/T/ATA (TGONZALEZ)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL KCRM ASEC SL
SUBJECT: SIERRA LEONE LAW ENFORCEMENT AND JUDICIAL TRAINING
ASSESSMENT

REF: STATE 5448


1. In response to reftel, Embassy Freetown's Law Enforcement
Working Group was convened on January 23 to discuss law
enforcement and judicial capacity. Responses to reftel
questions are presented in the following paragraphs. Please
note that judicial capacity, including the court system and
Department of Public Prosecutions, is not discussed; though
the judicial system is known for corruption and
ineffectiveness, other donors are collaborating with the
Government of Sierra Leone to address these endemic problems.
Post believes the best use of USG resources is a specific
focus on law enforcement.

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CHALLENGES
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2. Sierra Leone faces significant internal and regional
security challenges that must be combated by the Sierra Leone
Police (SLP) and other, non-military security agencies. Still
recovering from the decade-long civil war, the country has
economic and social problems that create an environment
conducive to criminal activity. Economic instability, endemic
unemployment and underemployment, limited educational and
skills-training opportunities, and rising commodities prices
heighten desperation. The government, due to a general lack
of resources and infrastructure, is unable to provide an
adequate social safety net for its vulnerable population.
Financial insecurity is an enabling factor for individuals,
particularly men aged 18-35, to resort to crime for their
livelihood.


3. Theft is common in Sierra Leone, particularly in urban
areas where wealth is intermingled with abject poverty. Home
invasions targeting individuals with known wealth has
increased over the past six months, and petty theft, such as
pick-pocketing, break-ins, muggings, and car theft is a
regular occurrence. Trafficking in persons is thought to be
prevalent, but research indicates that it is largely not
associated with a crime syndicate. Instead, trafficking in
Sierra Leone usually occurs within families, and
transnational cases are rare. Smuggling of goods, contraband,
and people across the porous borders is common, particularly
between Sierra Leone and Guinea.


4. Arguably the biggest problems facing Sierra Leone and the
SLP are narcotics, resource theft, and terrorism. West
African countries are increasingly being used as transit
locations for narcotics shipments from South America to
Europe and the Middle East, and Sierra Leone is no exception
to this trend. The July 2008 bust that netted more than 700kg
of cocaine is thought to be just one of many examples of
Sierra Leone serving as a transit country for hard drugs.
Increased incidence of drug muling has also been discovered
through enhanced screening at the country's one international
airport, but likely represents only a small portion of the
drug flow in and out of Sierra Leone. Its proximity to such
known potential "narcostates" as Guinea and Guinea-Bissau,
plus notoriety for having an ineffective police and judicial
system and a culture of corruption makes Sierra Leone highly
attractive to criminal organizations seeking an additional
West African safe haven. Though strong action following the
July bust, including arrests and trials for 18 suspects and
the passage of a new, more stringent national drug control
act, could be deterrents to further activity, the underlying
issues of weak general security, vulnerability to corruption,
and a dysfunctional judiciary are still considerable
problems.


5. Resource theft is a constant concern in Sierra Leone,
particularly with regards to marine resources and timber.
Though Sierra Leone is well-known for its minerals, fish and
seafood in the country's coastal waters could net tens of
millions of dollars per year if properly harnessed. Instead,
the inability of the SLP to patrol its coastline means that
foreign fishing fleets are poaching potential profits with
tacit impunity. Besides the current economic loss this
represents, overfishing results in chronic depletion of the
existing bio-mass, which impacts appropriate resource
management for economic and environmental benefit in the
future. The hardwood forests, also a valuable economic and
environmental resource, are being illegally culled on a
regular basis. Timber is often smuggled over the border to
Guinea and Liberia. Sierra Leone does not have an effective
means to patrol its forests, national parks, or borders.


6. Though terrorist acts have not occurred in Sierra Leone,
and the government does not support or encourage terrorist

activity, Hizbollah fundraising cells are believed by many to
be active here. The capacity of the SLP and intelligence
units to gather adequate information on their activities, let
alone combat them, is highly limited. With the minimal
resources to police such activities as well as the unchecked
element of corruption known to exist, Sierra Leone is in an
excellent position, both logistically and geographically, to
cultivate and support terrorist recruiting and training.

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CAPACITY ISSUES
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7. The SLP and related non-military security agencies have
limited capacity to effectively handle the challenges facing
them. Lack of resources - financial, physical, and human - is
the biggest hurdle. Sierra Leone has severe budgetary
problems that impact every facet of governance, including the
security sector. Funding for even the most basic equipment or
operational expenses, such as petrol for patrol vehicles, is
often too expensive for the SLP's budget. The low salaries
(approximately $50/month for an officer) contribute to the
difficulty in recruiting and retaining an effective force
with the integrity to withstand bribery. While training is an
SLP priority, it is generally not affordable.


8. Physical capital needs include such basic necessities as
police stations with regular electricity and running water.
The SLP also have a limited number of vehicles available,
including trucks and motorbikes. The country has only a few
vessels for conducting marine patrols. Evidence storage
facilities and forensics labs are needed, but nonexistent.
Besides these large-scale needs, the majority of police
officers are themselves not properly equipped. Officers are
not issued such requisite items as restraints,
evidence-recovery kits, fingerprinting kits, or even notepads
and pens.


9. Human capital is a noted problem. Though hiring new
officers with potential is relatively easy in a country with
few employment prospects, giving them the training they need
to work effectively is costly. All officers receive
rudimentary training, but this is inadequate. Corruption, as
identified in para. 7, is an endemic problem within the
security services. The most competent officers, often the
beneficiaries of international training investment by the
U.S. or other Western countries, frequently seek
higher-paying and prestigious postings with the AU, ECOWAS,
and UN systems.

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TRAINING
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10. Training needs are far-reaching in Sierra Leone, and
required for every rank, ranging from basic policing to
specialized investigative techniques. Though the Justice
Sector Development Program (JSDP),a UK-funded initiative, is
attempting to meet some of these needs (para. 13),
complementing and augmenting their efforts will help to fill
significant gaps. Community-oriented policing, law
enforcement techniques, evidence collection, crime scene
preservation, and record-keeping and case management are just
a small sample of the type of basic training the SLP could
benefit from. Advanced leadership courses for mid-level and
senior officers would be useful, as would be specialized
courses covering financial crimes, narcotics, organized crime
investigations, and managing intelligence. The SLP would be
the prime recipient of such training, but the Office of
National Security, including the Central Intelligence
Security Unit, would also benefit. Other agencies with
investigative or operational functions, such as the
Anti-Corruption Commission, Financial Intelligence Unit,
Customs and Border Patrol, and the Joint Maritime Wing could
be additional targets for training.

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SIERRA LEONEAN WILLINGNESS
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11. The Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) is eager for all
types of technical assistance and support, particularly in
the realm of peace and security. USG-funded training efforts
to date have been well-received, and all agencies are quick
to identify appropriate officers for opportunities that we
provide. Post receives requests for training and equipment
from the SLP and others in the security sector on a
near-daily basis, and ramping up our efforts in this area
would not only transfer needed knowledge to Sierra Leone, but

also help strengthen our bilateral relationship and security
interests in the country and region.

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CURRENT TRAINING EFFORTS
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12. The United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office for
Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL) has eight seconded police officers
from various nations providing technical assistance and
training to the SLP in Freetown and other major urban
centers. Their three primary areas of engagement are
counter-narcotics, intelligence gathering, and improving
professional standards. Embedded officers will focus their
training efforts on particular units within the SLP, such as
the Complaints, Discipline, Internal Investigations
Department. One seconded officer from the Spanish police and
two UNODC officers will work exclusively on
counter-narcotics, and will train and assist members of the
Joint Drug Interdiction Task Force. These efforts will
provide excellent hands-on guidance for the SLP, but will end
when UNIPSIL's mandate expires on September 30, 2009.


13. The JSDP, funded by the UK government, is a comprehensive
response to inadequacies in the judicial and security
sectors. Though a significant portion of the JSDP funding
supports capacity-building for the country's court systems,
assisting the Ministry of Internal Affairs, SLP, and prison
system is also considered a priority. From 2008 through the
first quarter of 2010, the JSDP has committed 121,000 GBP for
the Ministry, 668,000 GBP for the SLP, and 416,180 for
corrections management. The Ministry of Internal Affairs
lacks capacity to conduct its oversight role of the police
and prisons, and the JSDP project seeks to provide training,
create strategic plans, establish standard operating
procedures, and develop mechanisms to enhance coordination
with other relevant agencies. The SLP program includes a
one-month training course for senior managers and a
three-week course for mid-level managers on leadership and
management skills. It also includes a refresher training on
conducting criminal investigations. Along with these efforts,
the JSDP is helping to restructure criminal
intelligence-gathering within the SLP, and encouraging the
deployment of trained investigators to rural areas. In the
area of corrections, the program is focused on improving the
structure, systems, and processes for prison management,
preventing human rights abuses, improving records management,
and training staff. According to JSDP staff, the biggest gap
in their programming is the lack of specialized training.
Forensics, for example, are a field in which there is no
capacity and where in-depth training is desperately needed.


14. There is no non-military regional training center
operating in Sierra Leone.

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POST POC
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15. Embassy Freetown's point of contact on this issue is P/E
Officer Amy LeMar: lemaran@state.gov; 232-76-616-609.
FEDZER