The population is showing increasing signs of concern over the increasing acts of banditry perpetrated in recent weeks. Back in Haiti, after submitting its report to the United Nations Security Council, Edmond Mulet, Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in Haiti, wanted to be reassuring "the country will face in a quiet climate the next presidential and legislative elections [...] never before we had in Haiti we had a security level as high [...] strengthening the police and the military contingent of MINUSTAH in recent months has helped keep the situation in the country under control"

Recalling, like it appears in his report, that by his resolutions 1908 and 1927, the United Nations Security Council had reinforced the police component by approving the deployment of 2.180 additional agents (100 specialists in the penitentiary questions and 2.080 police officers).This brings the number of members of the police force authorized in Haiti, to 4.391, including 1.351 police officers, 2.940 members of the units of police force made up and 100 specialists in the penitentiary question. At August 15th, 1.181 police officers and 1.838 members of formed police units were deployed, bringing the workforce to a total of 3.019 agents on the whole. This reinforcement has allowed the police component to extend its functions and in particular ensure the protection of IDPs and vulnerable groups and increase the capacity of the Haitian National Police (PNH).

However, he recognizes at the same time that security forces have detected a peak in the activities of criminal organizations trafficking in drugs and arms, and even an attempted infiltration of the mafia in the National Police.

The police chief of the PNH, Thermilus confirms this infiltration by specifying that 7 police officers including 2 women implied in acts of banditry, kidnapping and drug trafficking, were recently arrested. Reaffirming that the PNH cannot in no case to tolerate police officers corrupted in its manpower. "We know that it can happen that certain agents are mingled with reprehensible acts, for this reason, we permanently inquire in order to remove the PNH from these individuals".

On strengthening the capacity of the HNP, the police component continued, with the assistance of UNDP, to contribute to the implementation of the plan of reform of the PNH while taking part in the selection of 1.016 new recruits and by checking the qualifications of new staff and of those which were already in function.

Regarding the elections, the Commissioner said that the PNH was taking all dispositions to ensure that these elections can be conducted in a safe environment, stressing that the arrest of gang leader Pierre Gaskov aka "Bobo" earlier this week in the slum of Cite Soleil. Willy Etienne on Monday, September 6 are strong signals in the mediums of the banditism, signals which are likely to cause a drop in the rate of criminality. It stated that from September 1st to 12th the police had apprehended 663 people for a total of 543 treated cases.

If the importance of the police may impress some, it must remembered that at the first September 2010, after 8 months of tracking, on 5.409 prisoners in mare [whose very many dangerous criminals], only 629 escaped prisoners were taken again (that is to say a little less than 12%) thus it remains 88% of these gangsters in nature, which does not have anything to calm concerns of the population.

Concerning the "reassuring" talking of Edmond Mule [in the middle of many criticisms], we are accustomed to its promises without future, it is enough to read some of its declarations in our articles to realize that it is infinitely stronger in words than in acts. But the population is not fooled. Moreover, one rumor these last weeks, implies that the United States would wish to double their manpower in Haiti at the election time, if this rumor is true, it confirms that the situation in Haiti is far from being as "quiet" and "under control" that wants to try to make us believe Mulet.

See also

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-1136-haiti-justice-arrest-of-the-redoubted-chief-of-gang-willy-etienne.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-1189-haiti-insecurity-arrest-of-the-chief-of-gang-pierre-gascov-aka-bobo.html

S/ HaitiLibre