UNMIL retrains first batch of Liberian police

The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) on Friday completed the training of 20 Liberian police officers and deployed them alongside UN police in various areas of the capital, Monrovia. UNMIL police commissioner, Mark Kroeker, told reporters that the three-day intensive retraining course, which began on early this week, was "a pilot project that marks the beginning of restructuring the Liberian police force". He said: "The retrained police were selected after a thorough screening exercise that looked into their files and searched for their professional competence and the human rights records." "These officers along with UN Civpol [civilian police] will carry out joint patrols in communities around the city to raise awareness about crime prevention. The retrained police are an interim force," Kroeker added. The head of the Liberian police force, Chris Massaqoui, said the retrained police along with their counterparts from UNMIL, would patrol the capital's eastern outskirts of Congo Town and Paynesville. "Beginning Monday, those officers will move into other communities in Monrovia which we have identified as crime breeding areas," Massaqoui said. Kroeker said the officers were taught basic skills in community policing and underwent training in human rights and the rule of law. On September 19, the Security Council approved a peacekeeping force of 15,000 troops and 1,115 international police for Liberia under UNMIL. The force is intended to restore law and order and restructure Liberia's police force after 14 years of civil war.