INL MONROVIA MONTHLY REPORTS FOR DECEMBER AND JANUARY

UNCLAS MONROVIA 000264 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR INL-CIV-DL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AMGT ASEC SNAR KPKO LI SUBJECT: INL MONROVIA MONTHLY REPORTS FOR DECEMBER AND JANUARY ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: This report covers December 14 to January 31. Report for February will be sent septel. The Emergency Response Unit (ERU) continued the transition from police headquarters to the new ERU Command Center. ERU training continued with the added development of more "train the trainer" ownership by the ERU. UNPOL Advisors completed their thirty-day out-of-mission and returned to their duties in UNMIL. JSSL Advisor Bratten continued her work with the Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) Unit and the renovations to the Temple of Justice are ongoing with minimal delays. END SUMMARY ¶2. (U) GENERAL HOUSEKEEPING: Civilian Police and Judicial Affairs Officer (CPJAO) departed Post for annual leave on December 13. January 7 to 10, CPJAO had consultations in Washington, DC with INR, AF, S/CRS, INL and participated in an intel briefing hosted by S/CRS in preparation for the Interagency Conflict Assessment Framework (ICAF) for Liberia scheduled for March. CPJAO returned to Post on January 14. CPJAO represented the ambassador at the Liberia National Police graduation ceremony in January. ¶3. (U) EMERGENCY RESPONSE UNIT (ERU): In December, training for ERU continued, with the fifth and final class of ERU candidates (46 males and 1 female),ERU driver's training and an in-service communications refresher course. ERU instructors also began developing their own ERU Driving Instructor course to "train the trainers." ¶4. (U) In December, three teams of ERU were deployed throughout Liberia - one team (10 ERU members) to the Firestone Plantation in response to criminal activity and threats against company employees; one team (18 ERU members) along with two (2) UN Police (UNPOL) Advisors to Sinoe County Rubber Plantation to quell potential unrest due to a change in management and one team (10 ERU members) to Sanniquellie for a Presidential visit. By the end of January all three teams had successfully completed operations and returned to Monrovia. ¶5. (U) ERU Advisors and ERU Commanders planned and implemented an operation to curb a crime spree by a local gang. Sixty-five (65) subjects were arrested in the operation. Eighteen (18) suspects were later formally charged and taken to Paynesville Magisterial Court for prosecution. The others were released after meeting with community leaders and LNP to identify the specific perpetrators within the community. ¶6. (U) The new ERU HQ was formally handed over to ERU supervision in December. Finishing touches to the compound (pavers laid, generator housing and ammo depot constructed, concrete poured for parking area) were completed on December 31. The radio towers at the new HQ and the National Police Training Academy were made functional and communication has been established with units in the field. LNP Director/Inspector General of Police Marc Amblard toured the new ERU Headquarters and was reported to be pleased and satisfied. ERU-LNP Commanders, UNPOL ERU Advisors and Trainers moved furniture from LNP Headquarters into the ERU Headquarters. ¶7. (U) U.S. ERU Advisors supervised ERU armorers during regular maintenance of excess weapons secured at the German Embassy. ERU Project Manager Damon Brown ended mission in December and returned to the U.S. for thirty day rest and relaxation and INL retraining. Damon returned to mission in mid-January and resumed his duties as ERU Project Manager. ¶8. (U) In January, a Swiss delegation visited the ERU Command Center and a Norwegian delegation met ERU Project Manager, Command Staff and Lead ERU Trainer at the LNP National Police Training Academy (NPTA). ERU Commander Sebastian Farr (Liberian) narrated ERU demonstrations and Lead ERU Trainer Amos Williams (Liberian) briefed the delegations with little or no assistance from UNPOL advisors. ¶9. (U) The ERU-LNP Amory team continued the process of recording ERU weapons with LNP forensics which is creating a central weapons database for Liberia. Weapons are test fired at LNP HQ (in the first ever test firing tube constructed in Liberia) and both the bullets and shell casings are placed on file along with the weapon identification number. As of January, 50 ERU weapons (39 M-4 rifles and 11 Smith & Wesson 9mm pistols) had been test fired and documented. All ERU weapons will undergo this exercise. The plan is for weapons currently utilized by all Liberia's security forces (LNP-ERU, LNP-Police Support Unit/PSU, Special Security Service/SSS) to be catalogued in this manner. ¶10. (U) SENIOR ADVISOR TEAM (SAT): In December, SAT members were invited to sit on a subcommittee with members from the Ministry of Justice and LNP designed to address pre-trial detention issues. Central Prison in Monrovia is currently 300% over capacity. The majority are pre-trial detainees. ¶11. (U) SAT assisted the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) training on new, standardized LNP forms on December 9 and 10. This is a project that has been ongoing with Justice Sector Support for Liberia (JSSL) Advisor Cecilia Bratten (see JSSL section below). Approximately 90 LNP investigators attended the training. The training is the culmination of a three-month effort on the part of LNP, UNPOL, JSSL, and NRC. The emphasis of the training was documentation to achieve probable cause prior to arrest utilizing the new forms. ¶12. (U) Senior Advisor Mike White ended mission and returned to the U.S. for his thirty day rest and relaxation and retraining. Jack Nielsen returned from his thirty days out of mission on January 16 and resumed his duties as SAT Team Leader. ¶13. (U) Initial meetings were held with the Deputy Inspector General for Operations and the newest Senior Advisor (Frank Rowe). Deputy Inspector General Tarpeh discussed his desire to review the status of the Emergency Plan for the LNP HQ, and the standard operating procedures (SOP) for LNP PSU and LNP Communications and voiced his support for a way forward. ¶14. (U) In January, the SAT met with the Traffic Court Judge to discuss the handling of traffic tickets. The court is currently unaware of who is issued a ticket by the LNP. There should be a court disposition on each case. SAT began working with the ticketing section, the court liaison officers of the LNP and the Traffic Court to devise a system that allows the tickets to flow through the court unheeded. ¶15. (U) SAT facilitated the printing of the standardized forms for LNP in January and began devising a distribution plan with the LNP. ¶16. (U) Justice Sector Support for Liberia (JSSL): In December, JSSL Prosecution Advisor Cecilia Bratten, along with SAT member Mike White, continued their work with the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) to design improved reporting forms, investigative checklists and evidence collection envelopes for police and to develop training programs for introducing these items to LNP. ¶17. (U) On December 9 and 10, JSSL Advisor Cecilia Bratten and Senior Police Advisor Mike White delivered training to 72 Liberia National Police (LNP) line managers. Training exercises introduced participating officers to a new case incident report form, a case file jacket preprinted with an investigative check list and diary and pre-printed evidence collection envelopes. These items were developed for LNP by Advisors White and Bratten and Anna Stone of NRC with input from the UN Police (UNPOL) Commissioner's Office. The lecture content and exercises used during the two day training session were designed to review and build upon the content delivered in Sessions One and Two of the NRC training program, as well as introducing the evidence collection envelope and the new form and file jacket. Advisors White and Bratten will be continuing to work with NRC and will be designing and delivering training components for the next four monthly sessions. ¶18. (U) JSSL Adviser Bratten began working with members of the Ministry of Justice Pretrial Detention Task Force subcommittee on process and procedures for the Magistrate Sitting Program, the sessions of the Magisterial Courts held at Monrovia Central Prison to address the pre-trial detention overcrowding issues. Advisor Bratten began working with Resident Legal Advisor Tracy Johnson to discuss how to include plea negotiation in discussions of strategies to reduce the number of pretrial detainees. ¶19. (U) In January, Advisor Bratten continued her work with the Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV) Crimes Unit, including facilitating a planned study visit for the Chief SGBV Prosecutor to the South Africa Sexual Offenses Court that provided the model for Liberia's Sexual Offenses Court (Court E) and meetings in Washington, DC. Advisor Bratten is preparing the curriculum for the next Quarterly Prosecutors Training to be held in early February and curriculum for the next session in the series of training programs for Liberian National Police Women and Children Protection Services Line Managers sponsored by Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). ¶20. (U) Advisor Bratten continued her work with the NRC in January on a three day workshop to be held from the 25th to the 27th. The multi-disciplinary workshop will introduce a team approach to responding to sexual offenses and will bring together judges, prosecutors, police, health care providers and social workers from every county in Liberia to develop a coordinated response to sexual assault and abuse cases. ¶21. (U) Advisor Bratten began working with Solicitor General Wilkins Wright to develop record keeping and reporting mechanisms for the County Attorneys that will allow cases to be tracked to avoid cases going over time standards, being compromised or becoming lost in the system. The reporting forms will also provide data on the number of cases entering the criminal justice system and the number of cases being disposed of. ¶22. (U) Adviser Bratten continued her service on the Board of Governors for the James A. A. Pierre Judicial Institute (JI). ¶23. (U) TEMPLE OF JUSTICE (TOJ) RENOVATION: Renovation of the Temple of Justice began in early December. To facilitate the beginning of the renovation, TOJ staff removed all computer equipment from the basement of the main building but left multiple boxes of court documents behind. PAE staff secured the documents and requested guidance from the Office of the Chief Justice on where to deliver them. As of January 2, 99% of the demolition for the entire project had been completed and all the debris had been removed from the site. ¶24. (U) In January, a plumbing leak that had the potential for holding up the project was fixed by TOJ workers. Electrical wiring and plumbing installation continued. At the end of January, plumbers were three days behind schedule but electrical installation was ahead of schedule. THOMAS-GREENFIELD