When I arrived in Kabul just over a month ago, I knew little about the composition of the Afghan National Police. As a public affairs officer, I’ve learned a great deal about NATO Training Mission - Afghanistan’s mission to build the police forces, but I’m far from the authority. So I thought I would present an easy-to-read primer on what I know. I’ll try to keep it simple, but by all means if I lose you or you want to know more, ask! (The great thing about NTM-A’s webpage is it is interactive). Also, I’m surrounded by the experts and they’re all keen on making sure you know what we’re doing.
Who are these experts, you ask? Instead of regurgitating the establishment history of NTM-A, I’ll just point you in the right direction and move on … (http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/news_52802.htm).
Suffice to say, NTM-A and other International organizations work with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA) to build a police force that will be here to protect and serve the citizens of Afghanistan.
If you’re looking for a broad definition for the ANP, let’s say “they provide law enforcement, public safety and internal security to enforce the rule of law throughout the provinces and districts in Afghanistan.” But the ANP isn’t a one-size-fits-all mass of people. There are five categories of police: Afghan Uniform (Civilian) Police (AU(C)P), Afghan National Civil Order Police (Gendarmerie) (ANCOP(G)), Afghan Border Police (ABP), Afghan Anti-Crime Police (AACP) and Afghan Public Protection Force (APPF).
In the Afghan National Police Strategy signed by Minister Atmar recently (http://www.ntm-a.com/news/1-categorynews/272-minister-sets-course-for-afghan-police-forces), the categories of ANP are defined as such:
Afghan Uniform (Civilian) Police. The “Afghan Uniform Police” consists of the Afghan National Police Regional Zones, the Traffic Police and the Fire and Rescue Department.
Afghan National Civil Order Police (Gendarmerie) (ANCOP(G)). The ANCOP's mission is to maintain law and order utilizing proportional armed capability. It will be organized geographically into regional brigades and battalions. The ANCOP will be the lead police organization in counter-insurgency operations and work in close cooperation with the Afghan Border Police and Afghan National Army.
Operations conducted by these units should be fully supported by military forces or conducted jointly with the military to support the ‘clear’ phase of counter-insurgency operations and the ANCOP will eventually be the primary police organization in the ‘hold' phase of counter-insurgency operations and will support the Afghan Uniform Police.
Afghan Border Police. The mission of the Afghan Border Police is to secure and safeguard the national borders and maintain security in the Border Security Zone that extends 50 kilometers into the territory of Afghanistan.
Afghan Anti-Crime Police. The “Afghan Anti-Crime Police” comprise the investigative and intelligence police capacities at all levels from the MOI to regions, provinces and districts (except the functions of Inspector General and Internal Affairs).
The mission of the Afghan Anti-crime Police is to provide the police units with technical police skills not held by other members of the police. They will assist in investigations conducted by the Inspector General and Attorney General offices.
Afghan Public Protection Force. The Public Protection Force will operate at the district level to protect key infrastructure, facilities, construction projects and personnel, with a special focus on the protection from insurgency. It will also provide protection for those facilities for which donors, international agencies and private sector organizations currently contract private security companies. This will remove the need to employ trained Afghan Uniform Police officers in guard positions. The introduction of this Public Protection Force will permit higher trained police resources to be focused on providing more effective law enforcement. Subject to Government approval, the Public Protection force will gradually replace Private Security Companies in the future.
NTM-A continues to work with GIRoA to ensure these organizations continue to grow and function as intended. That’s not to say that there aren’t any growing pains, because there are many. But with the proper guidance and desire, the ANP will be successful.
That should give you a start, if you want more information, ASK! That’s why I’m here.
Revised May 4, 2010
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2010-03-14 21:34:56 | kmgerst
AB4C, Thanks for your feedback!
I'm serious about asking, folks! What do you want to know?
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2010-03-15 03:38:31 | Eileen - ANP Training
Thanks for the good info.
I'm interested in the training - how does it differ between the forces? Will everyone be trained at the National Police Training Center and/or the regional centers? And who is being mentored by PMTs post-basic training? Etc.
Thanks!
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2010-05-04 21:32:46 | kmgerst - ANP Training
Eileen,
Let me first apologize for not replying to your question. I hadn't set the notification setting when I posted and didn't see your comment.
We have different programs of instruction for different types of Afghan National Police personnel. For example, if you are a border police, you receive training using a border police standardized program of instruction. The goal is to train all personnel at a training center using a standardized program of instruction.
There are some PMTs that mentor ANP in the districts. Currently, there is a shortage of PMTs. The PMTs fall under the command and control of ISAF Joint Command, NTM-A's operational counterpart under ISAF.
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2010-03-23 19:57:18 | Tom - AUP / ANP
I noticed that you referred to the police collectively as the Afgahn Uniformed Police (AUP). I was under the impression that the Aghan National Polce (ANP) was the collective term and that Afghan Uniformed Police (AUP) was the previous term for the Afghan Civilian Police (ACP). Can you verify which is the correct term for use when speaking about the Afghanistan's police forces as a whole?
Also, do you have any background on reasoning behind the addition of Gendarmerie to the Afghan National Civil Order Police or the change from Afghan Uniformed Police to Afghan Civilian Police?
Thank you
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2010-05-04 21:45:14 | kmgerst - AUP/ANP
Tom,
You're absolutely correct. ANP is the collective term; I was mistaken. As I said, I'm not the authority. I have continued to learn about the ANP every day I'm here.
According to the National Police Strategy, it is AU(C)P or commonly referred to as just AUP.
From what I understand, the addition of the the name "Gendarmerie" to the ANCOP is because the ANCOP force was based on international gendarme forces. The name is a holdover based on that.
And I apologize for the late reply. I hadn't changed the setting to notify me when comments are posted.
I have now edited the blog to correct my misunderstandings.
Thanks Martin. Great primer!