Law enforcement in Haiti

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Other than the temporary United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) force, the Haitian National Police (Police Nationale d’Haïti⎯PNH) is the only security force in the country following the disbandment of the Haitian military. According to the U.S. Department of State, the PNP is an “officially autonomous” civilian force headed by a director general whose activities are overseen by the minister of justice and the secretary of state for public security within the Ministry of Justice. The PNH has an estimated 2,000 personnel. Specialized units are dedicated to crime response (SWAT), crowd control in Port-au-Prince, security in the Ouest Department, and presidential security. Although officially part of the police force, the Presidential Security Unit operates with its own budget and administration. During President Bertrand Aristide’s second term (2000−4) political appointees took over many key positions in the PNH. In many instances, these appointees lacked security experience and compromised the political neutrality of the force. After Aristide fled the country, the interim president removed 200 corrupt and inexperienced officers in an effort to improve the PNH’s effectiveness. New training ensued to teach police officers how to balance security and human rights concerns. However, numerous problems limit the PNH’s effectiveness and reliability. Former military personnel exert considerable influence within the police force, and some have begun to push for the reestablishment of the Haitian army. Since its inception, the PNH has suffered from mismanagement, corruption, and a lack of funding. MINUSTAH has helped make up for the shortfalls of the PNH since it arrived in Haiti in 2004. Many security operations have been undertaken jointly by the PNH and MINUSTAH. Nevertheless, rampant crime and gang violence continue to be the most immediate problem facing Haitian authorities.^[1]

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Text used in this cited section originally came from: Haiti (May 2006) profile from the Library of Congress Country Studies project.

[edit] References

• This article contains material from the Library of Congress Country Studies, which are United States government publications in the public domain.