ARTICLE - PNH VETTING PROCESS

VETTING PROCESS OF THE PNH
(Haiti Libre) -

From September 20 to 22, the first training seminar on the certification process (vetting), initiated by the development pillar of the United Nations police in Haiti was held. This training took place at the Police Academy and included all investigators of the Vetting Unit, some twenty agents (14 PNH and 8 UNPol).

The seminar was opened by the Divisional Commissioner Hyppolite Gaspard, newly appointed Chief Inspector General of the National Police. The pillar of the UN police, in partnership with the National Police of Haiti (PNH) has found it necessary to hold such a seminar to explain the old concepts and train new investigators in the process of vetting. It is therefore a prerequisite for the restarting of activities. This seminar is important because it will allow investigators to better define the contours of their delicate mission, which is to investigate on the allegations of misconduct of their colleagues.

The seminarians were trained on topics such as, the general guidelines of the PNH concerning the professional conduct of its members, the Code of Ethics, human rights and international rules in the context of the vetting process. Candidates have also applied their knowledge and provided their recommendations by studying a hypothetical case. This seminar is part of the preparation for the activities of registration and certification of PNH officers. Participation certificates and testimonials of satisfaction will be presented to participants.

On this subject Mario Andrésol, Director of the PNH explained that "...the vetting process began in 2006-2007. It is a requirement of the UN Security Council, that resulted in a plan to reform the PNH in 2006 [...] is one of the things that was signed, where the Haitian State with the United Nations, agreed with the principle to investigate each police officer of the institution, in order to have people that are reliable at the police level [...] for your information on the 3,584 cases that have been treated there are at least 137 people that we need to examine again; to remove them from the police or recover them through training, depending on the severity of what is found in their file..."

Mario Andresol said the PNH now has over 10,000 members and that the vetting process will be resumed to investigate the members who have never been investigated.