Building Civilian Police Capacity: Post-Conflict Liberia, 2003-2011

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Building Civilian Police Capacity: Post-Conflict Liberia, 2003-2011

Focus: Accountable Policing

Topics: Internal Accountability, Community Policing, Recruitment, Corruption, Training

Type: Case Studies

Author: Jonathan (Yoni) Friedman and Christine MacAulay

Keywords: vetting, UN policies, training curriculum, rural policing, recruitment, rank restructuring, pre-deployment training, oversight agency, local police training, internal management, donor relations, disciplinary system, depoliticization, demilitarization, corruption, complaint collection, community policing

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Abstract

As Liberia began to emerge from civil war in 2003, the warring sides agreed to overhaul the discredited national police service. In the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in Accra, Ghana, the parties designated the United Nations as the lead body in rebuilding and reforming Liberia’s civilian police capacity. In a joint effort between Liberian and U.N. police, led initially by U.N. Police Commissioner Mark Kroeker and Liberian Inspector General Chris Massaquoi, reformers vetted and trained a new police service of more than 4,000 officers, established specialized units to combat gender-based violence and high-risk threats, improved internal accountability mechanisms, and began to reverse the sordid reputation for unlawful killings and rape the police had earned during Liberia’s civil war. This case offers insights into the development of the Liberia National Police, one of the successes in post-war Liberia and an uncommon example of successful post-war police reform.

Jonathan (Yoni) Friedman drafted this case study on the basis of interviews conducted in Monrovia, Liberia, during June and July 2011, and on the basis of interviews conducted by Arthur Boutellis in Monrovia in May 2008 and text prepared by Christine MacAulay. Case published September 2011. A separate case study, “Building an Inclusive, Responsive National Police Service: Gender-Sensitive Reform in Liberia, 2005-2011” describes efforts to increase gender diversity and respond to high rates of sexual and gender-based violence in Liberia.

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Building Civilian Police Capacity: Post-Conflict Liberia, 2003-2011

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Abstract

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Innovations for Successful Societies

Building Institutions

Escaping Traps

Building Civilian Police Capacity: Post-Conflict Liberia, 2003-2011

Full Publication

Abstract

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