Building trust Afghan training mission’s big challenge: RCMP deputy commander

The greatest challenge for police participating in Canada’s upcoming training mission in Afghanistan will be building trust between the Afghan police and locals, an RCMP deputy commissioner said Thursday after touring the war-torn country.

Several senior police commanders wrapped up a week-long visit of Kabul and Kandahar in a bid to better define what their officers will be teaching their Afghan counterparts once the training mission, dubbed Operation Attention, begins this summer.

RCMP deputy commissioner Bob Paulson, who oversees federal and international policing, echoed the oft-repeated sentiment of military commanders when he said strengthening the links between the community and Afghan police will be a major goal.

“Getting to establish that trust with the local communities is the key and that’s, I think, the biggest challenge,” Paulson said at Kandahar Airfield.

The ranks of the Afghan National Police have grown in recent months. In the Panjwaii district, for example, there are about 500 registered ANP out of 700 allocated positions — an increase from 140 in the fall.

But the public perception of the ANP has sometimes struggled because of corruption and indiscipline.

This is something that Canadian police officers will strive to correct once the training mission begins in July, particularly at the senior management level, Paulson said.

“Now we’re starting to get into the management of police forces, how you can be an executive and drive out a community-based policing philosophy, so I think that’s where we’re going to see the mission go,” he said.

There are 17 RCMP officers among about 50 from city and provincial police forces across Canada now serving in Afghanistan. It is unclear how many officers will be needed for the training mission and precisely where they will be based.

Federal officials have called the mission “Kabul-centric” and stressed that trainers would remain “behind the wire” as they try to quell the concerns of Canadians back home who have grown tired of the nearly decade-long war.

After his visit two weeks ago, Defence Minister Peter MacKay acknowledged there was some urgency to define the details of the training mission. At the time, MacKay said he would make a recommendation to cabinet and Prime Minister Stephen Harper for a final decision.

He said the mission would focus on security, medical and literacy skills.

Toronto police Chief Bill Blair promised a few of his officers would be involved in the training mission in some way, possibly in an increased capacity.

“I have no shortage of volunteers,” Blair said.

“If the national police service, the RCMP, came to us and said, ‘We need more from you,’ I think we can increase our contribution.”

There are about 10 Toronto police officers in Afghanistan now.

Sherry Whiteway, the deputy chief of the Durham Regional Police in Ontario, said while there have been marked improvements in the recruitment of officers in Afghanistan, keeping them may be difficult.

“They’re aggressively recruiting,” Whiteway said. “I think it’s the retention that’s going to prove somewhat sort of a problem.”

Durham has committed three officers for the training mission.

Ontario Provincial Police commissioner Chris Lewis and Mario Fournier, a commander with the Montreal police, also took part in the trip.