locations near the officers' families. U.S. officials noted that police officers 

have left the force to join the growing private security industry, which 

offers fewer risks and better pay and working conditions. Also, more than 

1,100 police officers were dismissed from the force since 1995 as a result of 

the police Inspector General's investigations into police misconduct. In 

addition, the police's failure to recruit new officers regularly has 

exacerbated the attrition of the police force. In mid June 2000, the Haitian 

police, with the help of the International Criminal Investigative Training 

Assistance Program, was working to start recruiting new officers regularly, 

but the recruitment never began, in part because of the suspension of most 

of the U.S. assistance in July 2000. This recruitment was to focus initially 

on selecting about 350 new officers in the fall of 2000.

Initially the United States placed great emphasis on training the new force 

and setting up the police academy to continue such training. However, 

most of the current police force has received only basic training. For 

instance, commanders and supervisors have received little supervisory 

training. Also, police officers, after attending an initial 6 month training 

course at the academy, receive very little or no follow on training unless 

they are assigned to a specialized unit, according to U.S. officials. Although 

officers in the specialized units receive more training, they still have limited 

technical capabilities to prevent or investigate crimes, according to U.S. 

and other donor officials. Most police officers do not get regular 

qualification training in firearms use, and, as a result, many officers are not 

qualified to use their weapons and cannot properly maintain their firearms, 

according to U.S. officials.

The United States helped Haiti equip its police force by providing police 

vehicles, communications systems, other equipment, and supplies. 

However, the current force has serious equipment shortages. During our 

visits to Saint Marc and Jacmel, we noticed that the police stations had very 

few vehicles, communications capabilities, and other police equipment to 

service large populations and territories under their jurisdictions. Although 

the specialized police units, such as the special weapons and tactics unit, 

generally have more resources than regular units, at times the specialized 

units lack the resources to maintain proficiency in the use of their 

equipment. For example, U.S. officials told us that the special weapons and 

tactics unit could not train with their issued weapons because they did not 

have enough ammunition. According to U.S. officials, although the Haitian 

Coast Guard is one of the best police units in terms of the capabilities of its 

staff, its effectiveness is seriously constrained by its lack of bases, 

personnel, and equipment, particularly in the southern part of the country 

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GAO 01 24  Foreign Assistance