Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

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Haiti: National Security
Internal Security since 1994
Upon President Aristide's return to Haiti in October 1994,
the military was divested of all of its previous internal security
functions, and steps were immediately undertaken to replace it
with a separate national police force as stipulated in the constitution.
As an initial measure, the Interim Public Security Force
(IPSF) was formed under the supervision of more than 1,000
international police monitors. Nearly 1,000 of the IPSF members
were drawn from Haitian migrants in the United States
safe haven in Guantanamo, Cuba. Most of the remainder,
about 3,300, were former FAd'H personnel who had been
screened to eliminate any suspected of human rights abuses or
criminal conduct. After an inadequate six-day training period
that emphasized human rights, the interim police were
deployed to cities and larger towns with the international monitors
serving as mentors to the untried new officers and helping
to reduce violations of human rights.
The effort to establish a permanent professional police force
got underway with the opening of a police academy in January
1995 at Camp d'Application outside of Port-au-Prince. A series
of four-month courses was instituted to enable the newly
trained policemen to begin replacing the IPSF in June 1995. In
December 1995, the government phased out the IPSF by incorporating
its remaining 1,600 members into the permanent
police force.
National Police
The Haitian National Police (Police Nationale d'Haiti
PNH) reached its targeted strength of 6,500 by early 1998, but,
by late 1999, its strength had fallen to 6,000 as a result of dismissals.
Its goal is to have 9,500-10,000 policemen by 2003, a
goal that many observers doubt is attainable. For a nation of
Haiti's size, the police complement is considered modest in
comparison with other countries of the region. New York City,
with a similar population, has a police force five times the size
of Haiti's.
The PNH represents a signal departure from Haiti's historical
reliance on the army to maintain internal security. Under
the police law passed by the Haitian congress in November
1994, the PNH falls under the immediate jurisdiction of the
Ministry of Justice and Public Security and the secretary of
state for justice and public security. Ultimate authority rests
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