| Somaliland Police | |
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1993 |
| Preceding agency | Somali Police Force |
| Employees | Unknown |
| Annual budget | Unknown |
| Legal personality | Governmental: Government agency |
| Jurisdictional structure | |
| Operations jurisdiction* | National of Somaliland, Somalia |
| Map of Somaliland Police's jurisdiction. | |
| General nature | |
| Operational structure | |
| Headquarters | Hargeisa |
| Sworn members | Unknown |
| Agency executive | Mohamed Sagadhi Dubbad, General |
| Units | Special Protection Unit (SPU) |
| Districtss | |
| Footnotes | |
| * Divisional agency: Division of the country, over which the agency has usual operational jurisdiction. | |
The Somaliland Police, also known as the National Police Force, is a regional body in charge of law enforcement in the breakaway region of Somalia known as Somaliland. They fall under the Minister of Interior, but also works closely with the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the military. It was founded in 1993 out of several militant organizations that had helped overthrow the Siyad Barre regime in 1991.[1] It is divided up by each of Somaliland's administrative regions: Gabiley, Maakhir, Cayn, Salal, Sarar, Odweyne, and Hawd. Each region has a police commandant and commissioned officers. The police are tasked with carrying out criminal investigation, patrolling, and traffic management. There are also a small number of anti-riot personnel. In addition, a British-trained Special Protection Unit (SPU) is taked with the protection of leaders and foreign dignitaries.[2] In 2005, the armed forces and the police received 46 percent of the Somaliland budget. Most of this money went to salaries and allowances.[3]
The US State Department's 2010 Human Rights Reports in Somalia observed that the Somaliland Police were firmly under civilian control, had not committed any unlawful killings (including demonstrators), were not conducting arbitarary or politically motivated arrests, and were not committing torture or rape (but were also not taking direction action against people who were). The report noted that the prisons were improving, due to UN supervision. Half of the 765 prisoners in the Mandheera Prison were detained on the orders of regional or district security committees.
The Somaliland Police commissioner is General Mohamed Sagadhi Dubbad[5] He replaced Elmi Robleh Furreh, who was fired by Somaliland President Ahmed Mahamoud Silanyo in July 2011.[6] The Deputy Police Commissioner of Somaliland is Abdi Rahman Liban.[7][8]
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As of 2003, there were eight police stations and 24 police posts in Hargeisa.[9]
Hargeisa
Since at least 2010, the UNDP has been working on reforming and training the Somaliland police force. In 2010 they were also making an effort to align/merge the maritime police with the civilian police.[10]
But due to lack of funds and imposition of arms embargo, the guns in use belong to the individual soldiers themselves. Before joining the army, both former combatants and new recruits, are required to report for an agonizing recruitment process with their guns. A similar process is observed in other disciplined forces, including the police.[11]
Mandera or Mandeerha Academy[12]
2008 - Simultaneous explosions in Hargeisa targeting the UNDP, the Somaliland Elections Commission, and the Ethiopian embassy, as well as Puntland administration offices in Bossasso, killed 20 persons and injured 37. On May 28, a Hargeisa regional court arraigned 11 suspects in the attack. In July the court acquitted nine of the suspects for lack of evidence and sentenced two others to a jail term of 18 months each for obstruction of justice. The court also delivered in absentia death sentences to five suspects who were on the run. On September 16, Somaliland security arrested Osman Yusuf Odawa, one of the suspected masterminds who had already been sentenced to death by hanging; he remained in custody awaiting the implementation of this sentence.[4] September 2009 - Somaliland authorities arrested and detained more than 100 persons, including several opposition leaders, after four persons were killed during demonstrations in Hargeisa.[4] June 19, 2011 - Two "soldiers" killed in a bomb attack on a police station in Las Anod, Sool region.[13]
October 27, 2011 - Police condemned by National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) for beating a journalist in Hargeisa in broad daylight, allegedly for taking several pictures.[14] November 27, 2011 - Commander of the Central Investigative Unit (CID) of Sool, Mohamud Mohamed Hirsi, is gunned down in Las Anod; his deputy, Arab Warsame, is also wounded.[15]
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