establish and equip a new civilian controlled police organization, 

including several specialized components, such as the investigative

division (judicial police)

3

; the special investigations unit

4

; the crowd 

control unit; the special weapons and tactics unit

5

; and the Haitian Coast 

Guard;

  create a police academy and recruit and train a new police force of 

about 6,500 police officers;

  train police officers for the specialized units;

  develop managerial and supervisory skills at all levels of the police 

force; and

  establish an Inspector General's office for monitoring the conduct of the 

police force.

Other U.S. agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Drug 

Enforcement Administration, and the U.S. Customs Service, provided some 

assistance. For example, the U.S. Coast Guard provided over $4.6 million to 

help organize, train, and equip the Haitian Coast Guard, which is part of the 

Haitian police. This assistance helped Haiti establish one Coast Guard base 

in Port au Prince, refurbish three vessels, maintain equipment, and develop 

capabilities for dealing with drug smuggling and illegal migration, for 

example. 

Problems Persist in Police 

Despite some initial achievements made possible by U.S. assistance, the 

Force

current Haitian police force has major deficiencies and is considered by 

many U.S. and other donor officials as a largely ineffective law 

enforcement body. According to U.S. and other donor officials, the police 

force has a number of organizational weaknesses; suffers from shortages of 

personnel, training, and equipment; and has limited investigative 

capabilities. Over the past year, particularly, U.S. and other donor officials 

have expressed concern over the Haitian police's crippled internal 

3

 The judicial police conducts criminal investigations involving serious crimes, such as drug 

trafficking, homicide, organized crime, and counterfeiting. The judicial police is made up of 

the antinarcotics unit, the criminal affairs bureau, the forensics unit, the judicial intelligence 

and central records bureau, and the search and intervention unit.

4

 This unit has focused on investigating high profile crimes, including extrajudicial killings. 

The U.S. assistance's long term goal was to help integrate this unit into the mainstream 

judicial police.

5

 The special weapons and tactics unit responds to crises in the Port au Prince area. This 

unit receives orders directly from the Director General of the police.

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GAO 01 24  Foreign Assistance