Department of State and the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia Sign Agreement to Support Police Reform Efforts

On August 5, the U.S. Special Representative for Somalia, James P. McAnulty and Deputy Assistant Secretary Todd Robinson, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs participated in a signing ceremony with Somali Finance Minister Hussein Abdi Halane at the U.S. Department of State. Special Representative McAnulty and Minister Hussein signed a bilateral agreement providing approximately $1.9 million to support Somali-led efforts in broad, national security sector reform through support to police development initiatives.

The Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) will provide the funding which will allow the United States and the Somali Federal Government to work together to support police reform projects designed to increase the capacity of officials to deter and effectively respond to crime. This is INL’s second agreement with the Government of Somalia.

Programs will support implementation of policies, procedures, and practices that place citizen services and respect for human rights at the forefront. The main focus of this new agreement will be to provide support to the Criminal Investigative Division (CID) of the Somali National Police Force, to build technical capacity to investigate complex crimes, effectively prepare cases for prosecutions, and provide on the job mentoring to mid-to-senior members of CID to ensure sustainability.