Police Program: Afghanistan

Fact Sheet

Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

May 3, 2010

The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), under the direction of and with financial support from Combined Security Transition Command – Afghanistan (CSTC-A), operates a civilian police training and advising program for the Afghan National Police (ANP) and Ministry of Interior. There are approximately 700 U.S. civilian police advisors at multiple facilities throughout Afghanistan who work directly with the ANP. The program, which started in 2003, has grown significantly in size and scope. Training for the ANP includes basic, advanced and specialized courses and is provided to elements of the ANP such as the Afghan Uniformed Police (AUP) and the Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP). Where possible, training is implemented through Focused District Development, a program geared towards increasing the capabilities of the police at the village and district level. Advising is conducted at all levels of the ANP, from entry-level patrolman in Afghan districts to senior Afghan officials within the Ministry of Interior. Specialized training and advising programs include criminal investigation training, a Women’s Police Corp program to bolster the recruitment and role of females in the ANP, and Family Response Units that respond to incidents of domestic violence in Afghanistan.

WHO?

• Approximately 700 civilian police mentors and trainers support curriculum development, train-the-trainer instruction, and on-the-job advising for the Afghan National Police.
  
  
• This total includes senior mentors who provide functionally-specific support and guidance to senior officials at the Ministry of Interior.
  

WHERE?

• 1 Central Training Center (CTC) in Kabul; 7 Regional Training Centers (RTC) in Mazar-e-Sharif, Konduz, Jalalabad, Bamiyan, Gardez, Kandahar, and Herat.
  
  
• Mentors are stationed at CTC/RTCs and multiple forward operating bases (FOBs) and provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs) throughout Afghanistan.
  

WHAT?

• Nine cycles of Focused District Development (FDD) have been implemented in more than 80 districts nation-wide, resulting in nearly 14,000 trained ANP. Under the FDD process, students are trained in basic, advanced and leadership skills as appropriate. While in training, FDD students are verified for rank, receive temporary ID cards and electronic bank accounts (where possible), and are equipped prior to district reinsertion. FDD also reinforces skills learned during training by providing follow-on mentoring until ANP units reach a state of operational independence. Mentoring is a key aspect of FDD and is a vital part of developing the capabilities of ANP units. Staffing of police mentor teams (PMTs), ANCOP sustainment, and MOI political will remain key challenges to the program.
  
  
• Including FDD, more than 113,000 ANP have received basic, advanced, and specialized training at facilities across Afghanistan since 2003.
  
  
• There are 22 Family Response Units with civilian police advisors attached to police stations in seven provinces (Kabul, Balkh, Herat, Konduz, Jawzjan, Takhar, and Bamiyan). FRUs, which are largely staffed by female police, are a venue for women, children, and families to report violent incidents and family disputes to law enforcement authorities.
  
  
• The Women’s Police Corp (WPC) program has been established to address the specific training needs of female recruits. The first WPC facility was opened in Kabul in late 2008 and has since graduated over 100 female police officers in 5 training cycles. Cycle 6 began in January 2010. A second WPC facility in Jalalabad opened in December and graduated its first class in January 2010.
  

FUNDING

• INL’s civilian police program is funded through Afghan Security Forces Fund (ASFF) appropriations transferred each year from the Defense Department to the State Department under a Memorandum of Agreement between the agencies.
  
  
• $399m was transferred to State in 2007 and $391m was transferred in 2008. $261 million was transferred in 2009.