18 members of the Haitian National Police (PNH), from agent 2 to Divisional Commissioner, have participated, from January 31 to February 18, to a formation course of instructor on the close protection of VIPs.

This training of instructors, requested by the General Inspector Destorel Germain, Central Director of the Administrative Police (DCPA), was prepared by the "Pilier 2" of the United Nations Police (UNPOL), responsible for development of the PNH and funded by the Embassy of France. This course is part of a series of training planned by the United Nations, through the establishment of a continuous training unit within the PNH.

These Instructors, will contribute in their turn to the formation of some 500 members of the PNH. Agents who will have the task to provide close protection for government officials, public figures that visit the country, senior police commanders and heads of diplomatic missions.

"We need expertise in this field. This is an adapted training, and we should have repeatedly", said Inspector General Jean Maxime Miguélite, Director of the Police Academy.

According to the instructor Paolo Bonano, head of the MTT (Mobile Training Team), the police suffers from "a notable lack of trainers in all professional fields". He deplores the fact that the police, once assigned in the police stations, are mostly "left to their own" in terms of continuous training. A situation that in his opinion generates "many gaps" in their performance. The establishment of an office of continuous and autonomous education within the Police Academy, is essential for the independence of the PNH. This office will include referents or chief Instructors in the different disciplines requiring specialization, such as close protection, penetration and intervention techniques, or enforcement. The objective is the "start of the system so that the police force can give directly by itself a formation to its members".

For the UN police the goal is to establish a viable structure, able to design, monitor and evaluate the training actions specific to the tasks of the PNH. This office will have also to take into account the local needs of the departmental directors, and place under their administrative control the future Instructors.

HL/ HaitiLibre