Haiti

• Author: George Kurian
• Pages: 462-464

Page 462

Official country name: Republic of Haiti

Capital: Port-au-Prince

Geographic description: Occupies the western half of the island of Hispaniola, the second-largest island in the Caribbean

Population: 8,121,622 (est. 2005)

LAW ENFORCEMENT

History

Historically, the police department was a relatively weak and poorly organized agency overshadowed by the military. Under dictator François (Papa Doc) Duvalier, many normal police duties were carried out by his personal police force, the Tonton Macoutes, dreaded, unpaid thugs virtually licensed to terrorize, kill, and extort the general population. After Duvalier's death in 1971, the Tonton Macoutes were renamed the National Security Volunteers by Duvalier's son and successor, Jean-Claude (Baby Doc) Duvalier and continued to terrorize the country. Following the U.S. invasion of Haiti in 1995, a formal police force was established under American auspices as the Haitian National Police (HNP).

Structure and Organization

The director general controls the Judicial Police, the Coast Guard, the Prison System, the inspector general, and the HNP. The Judicial Police controls the Antinarcotics unit, and the Palace and Presidential Guard is under the president's direct command. The bulk of the HNP is composed of the Administrative Police. Other specialized HNP units are:

Crisis-Response SWAT team

Crowd Control

Forensics

Special Investigations (which investigates high-profile political killings)

Special Weapons

Tactics

Allegations of corruption, incompetence, and narcotics trafficking affect all levels of the HNP. Some members of local government councils exercise arrest authority without legal sanction.

Education and Training

New cadets for the HNP are chosen on the basis of political and personal favoritism. Police officers attend a six-month training course at the Police Academy, which was built by the United States.

Page 463

Haitian police leave a makeshift military compound in Port-au-Prince, February 10, 2005. The police attempted to arrest former soldiers, among them Remissainthe Ravix, who were accused of killing four police officers. Much of Haiti's violence was attributed to the 2004 coup that forced president Jean-Bertrand Aristide ...