Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies
into towns and making members of the PNH in the Port-au-
Prince area subject to reassignment to the provinces.
Each new officer is provided with a gun, shoes, and one uniform.
The uniform consists of blue trousers with a vertical yellow
stripe and a pale tan shirt, usually short sleeved. Rank
insignia are worn on epaulets. Members of CIMO wear distinctive
black uniforms.
The police are restricted by law to carrying only sidearms.
Special units are equipped with shotguns, Ml 6 semiautomatic
rifles, and Uzi submachine guns, but in some cases police on
routine assignments are seen with them as well. Some riot
shields and bulletproof vests have been distributed. Maintenance
of equipment, including firearms, is poor, and control
systems are described as embryonic. Vehicles are in seriously
short supply. A number of new vans were donated to the police,
but most quickly became inoperable because of insufficient
maintenance and repair and the high accident rate attributed
to the inexperience of the recruits. Radio communication
exists between the capital and the departmental directors and
major urban areas, but communications remain poor in rural
areas. The police stations were at first in wretched condition,
some entirely uninhabitable, especially outside the capital.
They lacked furniture, office equipment, and holding cells.
Typewriters, filing cabinets, and some other equipment have
since been made available with the aid of outside agencies.
Among the problems still confronting the new police force
are weak leadership and political influence over appointments
and promotions. Excessive use of force continues to be at a
worrisome level (see Respect for Human Rights, this ch.).
Police often also display an arrogant attitude toward the local
community. PNH personnel are reluctant to descend from
their vehicles, to carry out routine patrolling, or to thoroughly
investigate crimes. In addition, supervisors are frequently
absent from their posts. However, Rachel M. Neild of the Washington
Office on Latin America, who has closely followed the
emergence of the PNH, observed in early 1998 that in spite of
these problems the PNH had gained confidence in 1997, its
second full year, and had become less dependent on foreign
police monitors in carrying out its operations."
The United States Department of State observed in 1999
that the PNH was continuing to gain experience and to benefit
from training. Nevertheless, the PNH found itself still grap-
482