The Afghanistan National Police (ANP)

[Red Rat]

This really makes you wander how a police force could function in an insurgency environment against guerrillas.

This quote is taken from the UK's ongoing Iraq Inquiry (Geoffrey Cooper UK Chief Police Advisor 18 Mar 08 – 7 Apr 09) Iraq Inquiry (IPS - Iraqi Police Service)

However coalition military commanders perhaps naturally considered the primary role of the IPS to be security provision, and as a result envisaged (and trained) the IPS largely as a paramilitary force. The primary role of policing in a stabilised environments is not security but provision of criminal justice.

What I think this quote highlights is that the role of the police in stabilised environments is very very different from those in COIN environments.

So what do we want the ANP to do? Provide security (primarily) with a little bit of law enforcement, or vice versa? I think at the moment we need security in order to enable (down the line) effective law enforcement. This means the ANP should be trained and equipped for security duties, but with the ability to transition (in due course) to law enforcement duties.

What does this mean? Well we can train them now very much like the ANA, but have a considerably tighter vetting process, regular drugs testing and an internal programme of education (literacy and numeracy) so that they can transition over time as/when/if the situation allows, to law enforcement.

I'm throwing it out there, but would having small "law enforcement" ANP patrols supplemented by a heavier paramilitary ANP quick reaction force work? Yes, ANP soldiers would still take losses, but they may possibly be able to enforce some law in the local area. It would be similar to a sheriff and his deputies with access to Federal Marshall assistance?

Or you train an effective civilian police force whose primary focus is law enforcement. In areas where they are unable to carry out their policing duties they are escorted by ANA to provide the force protection. The UK did this in N Ireland. High threat areas saw the police escorted by the army, low threat areas the police did it themselves. It meant the police were trained and equipped to be police and did not have to turn into a paramilitary force.

The other issue is what type of police force does Afghanistan require? The UK police model would probably not work in Afghanistan, and a Middle East model would probably be more appropriate.

Last but not least, a police force is only the tip of the spear. How effective is the rest of the Afghan judicial system?