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Buried within the guts of a very good New York Times story about problems with the Afghan security forces is word of this effort at rooting out police corruption:
The United States is also retraining uniformed police units in a process called Focused District Development. Under this program, police units in districts are mentored intensely through phases, including being replaced by an interim unit for several weeks while they undergo refresher training and have their equipment inventoried, examined and, as necessary, replaced.
The program implicitly acknowledges problems. General Ierardi said it was essential because it provided a chance to “refresh the screen.” To date, 65 of the country’s 365 districts and 12 companies have enrolled in the program. The Pentagon plans to expand the training.
What guarantees that the interim unit isn’t corrupt, though? The piece doesn’t say and I don’t know.
Crossposted to The Streak.
2 Comments
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A better question is what are we doing to change the external forces that lead to police corruption. Afghan police officers are just like everybody else. It’s easier to change the situation than it is to change people.
No, rotating a force is a pretty good way to stall corruption. Organized crime, like any organizing, takes time to set up. You need a reputation, and if the temps want to score big before they have to leave town they’re going to have to advertise their rottenness recklessly. Also, if the local bribers know that the bribee’s not going to be useful in a couple of months, it’s pretty easy to just lie low for a bit and not waste the cash.