State-Building Interventions in Post-Conflict Liberia: Building a State Without Citizens by Susanne Mulbah

Author:Susanne Mulbah [Mulbah, Susanne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: International Relations, African, Political Science, World, General
ISBN: 9781351711609
Google: RHE3DwAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2017-09-27T14:04:30+00:00

Police: the economy of checkpoints

As previously noted, a wider security sector architecture should include not just the army, but also all other security forces, including police, detention system, judicial system and a wider concept of the rule of law. Moreover, a security sector architecture needs to define the functions and relationships of each of its component to one another. In particular, the police security sector architecture needs to include law enforcement, judicial and corrective services. None of these measures will suffice, however, unless they are accompanied by strong accountability links, wider security sector governance and reforms that takes into consideration the future functions of the security forces in Liberia. The LNP’s task in internal security is vital. It must address the culture of endemic and systemic violence and lawlessness. This is not possible without changing the mind-set of the police force, but it also requires a significant investment of human resources and logistical infrastructure.

The UN Security Council Resolution 1509 specified a role for UNMIL in reforming Liberia’s police (Aboagye and Rupiya 2005). Bilateral donors – Germany, Norway and the US – have contributed to police reform. Regrettably, after years of ongoing reform, the capacity and professionalism of the police forces shows few improvements. Consequently, Liberia has reverted to many of its pre-war practices. The problems of the Liberian police force are financial, a lack of capacity, low levels of education, systemic corruption and a mentality in which everybody is concerned only with themselves (USAID 2013). In 2008, the LNP had 3,996 officers and 190 staff. With only 35 cars, there was one vehicle for every 114 officers. The ICG recommended deploying the LNP over the entire national territory, but by 2010, the LNP was still largely restricted to Monrovia. Four years later, 4,100 police officers were stationed in 151 police stations across the country (Interpol 2016). This equals roughly to one police officer for every 1,000 citizens. However, the LNP still faces budgetary problems, infrastructure and logistical challenges, and even a lack of petrol.

In general, the weak rule of law hampers efforts to reform the police forces and perpetuates the culture of impunity. Disciplinary problems, misconduct, low morale and systematic weaknesses in the command and control infrastructure are major concerns. One of the most controversial issues in the national police force is its upper management. The LNP faces low morale, poor discipline and extremely poor leadership. In 2009, opinions regarding Inspector General, Beatrice Muanh Sieh, varied widely and she was constantly being criticised by those below her (International Crisis Group 2009). The critics claimed that gender-based selection was not the right approach to making appointments, because gender is not a qualification. Such ill-advised nominations do not improve the acceptance of women in upper positions. Furthermore, despite their poor performance, many officials appear to be untouchable. The president rejected a board of inquiry recommendation for the dismissal of Inspector General Muanh Sieh despite a case of her instigating a gun battle between the LNP and Seaport Police in July 2007. Instead, she was sent to attended leadership training courses in China and the US (Kantor and Persson 2010).

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