VZCZCXYZ0010
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHFN #0034/01 0291641
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 291641Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY FREETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2435
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS FREETOWN 000034 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/W (JHUNTER), AF/RSA (CPOMMERER) 
DEPT ALSO FOR INL/AAE (AALTON), DS/T/ATA (TGONZALEZ) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL KCRM ASEC SL
SUBJECT: SIERRA LEONE LAW ENFORCEMENT AND JUDICIAL TRAINING 
ASSESSMENT 
 
REF: STATE 5448 
 
¶1. In response to reftel, Embassy Freetown's Law Enforcement 
Working Group was convened on January 23 to discuss law 
enforcement and judicial capacity. Responses to reftel 
questions are presented in the following paragraphs. Please 
note that judicial capacity, including the court system and 
Department of Public Prosecutions, is not discussed; though 
the judicial system is known for corruption and 
ineffectiveness, other donors are collaborating with the 
Government of Sierra Leone to address these endemic problems. 
Post believes the best use of USG resources is a specific 
focus on law enforcement. 
 
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CHALLENGES 
---------- 
 
¶2. Sierra Leone faces significant internal and regional 
security challenges that must be combated by the Sierra Leone 
Police (SLP) and other, non-military security agencies. Still 
recovering from the decade-long civil war, the country has 
economic and social problems that create an environment 
conducive to criminal activity. Economic instability, endemic 
unemployment and underemployment, limited educational and 
skills-training opportunities, and rising commodities prices 
heighten desperation. The government, due to a general lack 
of resources and infrastructure, is unable to provide an 
adequate social safety net for its vulnerable population. 
Financial insecurity is an enabling factor for individuals, 
particularly men aged 18-35, to resort to crime for their 
livelihood. 
 
¶3. Theft is common in Sierra Leone, particularly in urban 
areas where wealth is intermingled with abject poverty. Home 
invasions targeting individuals with known wealth has 
increased over the past six months, and petty theft, such as 
pick-pocketing, break-ins, muggings, and car theft is a 
regular occurrence. Trafficking in persons is thought to be 
prevalent, but research indicates that it is largely not 
associated with a crime syndicate. Instead, trafficking in 
Sierra Leone usually occurs within families, and 
transnational cases are rare. Smuggling of goods, contraband, 
and people across the porous borders is common, particularly 
between Sierra Leone and Guinea. 
 
¶4. Arguably the biggest problems facing Sierra Leone and the 
SLP are narcotics, resource theft, and terrorism. West 
African countries are increasingly being used as transit 
locations for narcotics shipments from South America to 
Europe and the Middle East, and Sierra Leone is no exception 
to this trend. The July 2008 bust that netted more than 700kg 
of cocaine is thought to be just one of many examples of 
Sierra Leone serving as a transit country for hard drugs. 
Increased incidence of drug muling has also been discovered 
through enhanced screening at the country's one international 
airport, but likely represents only a small portion of the 
drug flow in and out of Sierra Leone. Its proximity to such 
known potential "narcostates" as Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, 
plus notoriety for having an ineffective police and judicial 
system and a culture of corruption makes Sierra Leone highly 
attractive to criminal organizations seeking an additional 
West African safe haven. Though strong action following the 
July bust, including arrests and trials for 18 suspects and 
the passage of a new, more stringent national drug control 
act, could be deterrents to further activity, the underlying 
issues of weak general security, vulnerability to corruption, 
and a dysfunctional judiciary are still considerable 
problems. 
 
¶5. Resource theft is a constant concern in Sierra Leone, 
particularly with regards to marine resources and timber. 
Though Sierra Leone is well-known for its minerals, fish and 
seafood in the country's coastal waters could net tens of 
millions of dollars per year if properly harnessed. Instead, 
the inability of the SLP to patrol its coastline means that 
foreign fishing fleets are poaching potential profits with 
tacit impunity. Besides the current economic loss this 
represents, overfishing results in chronic depletion of the 
existing bio-mass, which impacts appropriate resource 
management for economic and environmental benefit in the 
future. The hardwood forests, also a valuable economic and 
environmental resource, are being illegally culled on a 
regular basis. Timber is often smuggled over the border to 
Guinea and Liberia. Sierra Leone does not have an effective 
means to patrol its forests, national parks, or borders. 
 
¶6. Though terrorist acts have not occurred in Sierra Leone, 
and the government does not support or encourage terrorist 
 
activity, Hizbollah fundraising cells are believed by many to 
be active here. The capacity of the SLP and intelligence 
units to gather adequate information on their activities, let 
alone combat them, is highly limited. With the minimal 
resources to police such activities as well as the unchecked 
element of corruption known to exist, Sierra Leone is in an 
excellent position, both logistically and geographically, to 
cultivate and support terrorist recruiting and training. 
 
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CAPACITY ISSUES 
--------------- 
 
¶7. The SLP and related non-military security agencies have 
limited capacity to effectively handle the challenges facing 
them. Lack of resources - financial, physical, and human - is 
the biggest hurdle. Sierra Leone has severe budgetary 
problems that impact every facet of governance, including the 
security sector. Funding for even the most basic equipment or 
operational expenses, such as petrol for patrol vehicles, is 
often too expensive for the SLP's budget. The low salaries 
(approximately $50/month for an officer) contribute to the 
difficulty in recruiting and retaining an effective force 
with the integrity to withstand bribery. While training is an 
SLP priority, it is generally not affordable. 
 
¶8. Physical capital needs include such basic necessities as 
police stations with regular electricity and running water. 
The SLP also have a limited number of vehicles available, 
including trucks and motorbikes. The country has only a few 
vessels for conducting marine patrols. Evidence storage 
facilities and forensics labs are needed, but nonexistent. 
Besides these large-scale needs, the majority of police 
officers are themselves not properly equipped. Officers are 
not issued such requisite items as restraints, 
evidence-recovery kits, fingerprinting kits, or even notepads 
and pens. 
 
¶9. Human capital is a noted problem. Though hiring new 
officers with potential is relatively easy in a country with 
few employment prospects, giving them the training they need 
to work effectively is costly. All officers receive 
rudimentary training, but this is inadequate. Corruption, as 
identified in para. 7, is an endemic problem within the 
security services. The most competent officers, often the 
beneficiaries of international training investment by the 
U.S. or other Western countries, frequently seek 
higher-paying and prestigious postings with the AU, ECOWAS, 
and UN systems. 
 
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TRAINING 
-------- 
 
¶10. Training needs are far-reaching in Sierra Leone, and 
required for every rank, ranging from basic policing to 
specialized investigative techniques. Though the Justice 
Sector Development Program (JSDP), a UK-funded initiative, is 
attempting to meet some of these needs (para. 13), 
complementing and augmenting their efforts will help to fill 
significant gaps. Community-oriented policing, law 
enforcement techniques, evidence collection, crime scene 
preservation, and record-keeping and case management are just 
a small sample of the type of basic training the SLP could 
benefit from. Advanced leadership courses for mid-level and 
senior officers would be useful, as would be specialized 
courses covering financial crimes, narcotics, organized crime 
investigations, and managing intelligence. The SLP would be 
the prime recipient of such training, but the Office of 
National Security, including the Central Intelligence 
Security Unit, would also benefit. Other agencies with 
investigative or operational functions, such as the 
Anti-Corruption Commission, Financial Intelligence Unit, 
Customs and Border Patrol, and the Joint Maritime Wing could 
be additional targets for training. 
 
-------------------------- 
SIERRA LEONEAN WILLINGNESS 
-------------------------- 
 
¶11. The Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) is eager for all 
types of technical assistance and support, particularly in 
the realm of peace and security. USG-funded training efforts 
to date have been well-received, and all agencies are quick 
to identify appropriate officers for opportunities that we 
provide. Post receives requests for training and equipment 
from the SLP and others in the security sector on a 
near-daily basis, and ramping up our efforts in this area 
would not only transfer needed knowledge to Sierra Leone, but 
 
also help strengthen our bilateral relationship and security 
interests in the country and region. 
 
------------------------ 
CURRENT TRAINING EFFORTS 
------------------------ 
 
¶12. The United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office for 
Sierra Leone (UNIPSIL) has eight seconded police officers 
from various nations providing technical assistance and 
training to the SLP in Freetown and other major urban 
centers. Their three primary areas of engagement are 
counter-narcotics, intelligence gathering, and improving 
professional standards. Embedded officers will focus their 
training efforts on particular units within the SLP, such as 
the Complaints, Discipline, Internal Investigations 
Department. One seconded officer from the Spanish police and 
two UNODC officers will work exclusively on 
counter-narcotics, and will train and assist members of the 
Joint Drug Interdiction Task Force. These efforts will 
provide excellent hands-on guidance for the SLP, but will end 
when UNIPSIL's mandate expires on September 30, 2009. 
 
¶13. The JSDP, funded by the UK government, is a comprehensive 
response to inadequacies in the judicial and security 
sectors. Though a significant portion of the JSDP funding 
supports capacity-building for the country's court systems, 
assisting the Ministry of Internal Affairs, SLP, and prison 
system is also considered a priority. From 2008 through the 
first quarter of 2010, the JSDP has committed 121,000 GBP for 
the Ministry, 668,000 GBP for the SLP, and 416,180 for 
corrections management. The Ministry of Internal Affairs 
lacks capacity to conduct its oversight role of the police 
and prisons, and the JSDP project seeks to provide training, 
create strategic plans, establish standard operating 
procedures, and develop mechanisms to enhance coordination 
with other relevant agencies. The SLP program includes a 
one-month training course for senior managers and a 
three-week course for mid-level managers on leadership and 
management skills. It also includes a refresher training on 
conducting criminal investigations. Along with these efforts, 
the JSDP is helping to restructure criminal 
intelligence-gathering within the SLP, and encouraging the 
deployment of trained investigators to rural areas. In the 
area of corrections, the program is focused on improving the 
structure, systems, and processes for prison management, 
preventing human rights abuses, improving records management, 
and training staff. According to JSDP staff, the biggest gap 
in their programming is the lack of specialized training. 
Forensics, for example, are a field in which there is no 
capacity and where in-depth training is desperately needed. 
 
¶14. There is no non-military regional training center 
operating in Sierra Leone. 
 
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POST POC 
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¶15. Embassy Freetown's point of contact on this issue is P/E 
Officer Amy LeMar: lemaran@state.gov; 232-76-616-609. 
FEDZER