Haiti Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe Holds Talks With National Police

Above: Haiti Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe meets with the Supreme Council of Police (Photo: OPM Haiti)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Haiti Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe met Friday with the Supreme Council of Haiti’s National Police.

The talks came during the council’s eleventh special meeting, which was held in Lamothe’s conference room. Lamothe and the council were joined by members of the embassies of the United States, Japan, France and Canada, MINUSTAH officials, Haitian government representatives and members of the Joint Commission to Support the National Police.

The latter was established at the National Police’s summit on June 29, tasked with examining the national police’s development plan for the years 2012-2016.

The commission also sought to help the police comply with guidelines set by Haitian authorities — primarily by creating conditions for better and more effective coordination with the international community.

At Friday’s meeting, the Supreme Council adopted the final development plan, which aims to bring the number of police to 15,000 by 2016, along with the establishment of a rapid reaction force, the implementation of border police and the extension of police coverage in municipalities and communal sections across the country.

The United Nations Security Council and other international partners have called on Haiti to strengthen its national police force, particularly as an eventual replacement for the MINUSTAH peacekeeping force.

A report by the International Crisis Group in August recommended that Haiti eventually increase the number of its police force to 20,000.