Militarized versus civilian policing

The United States military is the main driver behind the strengthening of the Afghan police. The predominance of the Pentagon has led to a shift away from civilian police reform towards a militarized model of police-building. The United States, as well as other international donors, argue that militarization is necessary in order to allow Afghan police officers to defend themselves against armed non-state actors and to contribute to counter-insurgency efforts. However, this report shows that it is not clear whether militarization makes the life of an Afghan police officer much safer. Also, without possessing civilian policing skills, the Afghan police will not be able to prevent and fight crime, a precondition for gaining the trust of the people. Most worryingly, the long-term risks of militarizing the police are high. The authors therefore advocate moving away from quick-fix approaches towards sustainable Security Sector Reform in Afghanistan, and to better balance military and civilian elements of police reform.