"Cops or Robbers?" AREU's must-read report on police reform

Donors are finally realizing the importance of police reform. Unfortunately, some of the response has been to throw money at the problem--the latest infusion of funding, for example, focuses on training and equipment, as if the police problem were primarily a technocratic challenge rather than a political one.

Andrew Wilder, research director at Tuft's Feinstein Center, is the author the AREU's remarkable new report on the topic entitled "Cops or Robbers? The Struggle to Reform the Afghan National Police". He argues that there is still no consensus about the role of police, and too little appreciation that the Ministry of the Interior is part of the problem. The paper highlights five challenges. Donors will need to:

1. Determine what the role of the police is: Are the police primarily a law and order force (the State Department and much of Europe's view) or a counterinsurgency force (the Pentagon's view, and one which is drawing most of the funding.)
2. Take a comprehensive approach to justice sector reform: cops can't provide law and order without functioning courts and jails...
3. Condition aid to force reforms in the Ministry of the Interior: pouring money into a corrupt ministry won't solve the problem; donors must condition their aid upon changes in leadership and personnel.
4. Focus on sustainability: Are we creating a force that Afghanistan cannot support once international donations decline?
5. Prioritize quality over quantity: There's a push to ramp up numbers (to fulfill the paramilitary mission) but doing so without sufficient vetting will undermine the whole enterprise.

This report is a must read...Download it here.