AFP international deployment role grows
Nick O'Brien looks at how the Australian Federal Police has boosted its capacity to provide offshore law and order assistance.
Most senior police officers around the world have an intimate knowledge of the communities their officers serve and the laws of their jurisdiction.
Indeed, most will also live in or near to their beat. Not so Assistant Commissioner Paul Jevtovic, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) national manager of the International Deployment Group (IDG). His officers serve around the world from Cyprus to the Sudan and Timor Leste to Tonga. Not just different countries, but vastly different cultures.
The IDG was established in February 2004 with funding drawn from appropriations for the Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) and the Enhanced Co-operation Programme (ECP) to Papua New Guinea.
An indication of its success is its exponential growth. In 2004, it was staffed by some 284 officers, in November 2007 that number had risen to 709 officers. In August 2006, the Australian Government agreed to funding of half a billion dollars over five years to allow the IDG to expand to 1200 personnel by mid 2008.
All the States and Territories, with the exception of New South Wales, contribute personnel to the IDG.
The IDG only deploy volunteers abroad and they receive extra pay for working in what are often difficult and dangerous conditions.
Assistant Commissioner Jevtovic considers that working for the IDG provides officers with a unique opportunity to be involved in policing different cultures and that at the end of their tour of duty they return to their police forces with extra skills.
IDG has expanded its activities
The IDG is tasked to deliver offshore law and order assistance, capacity building and peacekeeping activities on behalf of the Australian Government. Recently, the IDG has expanded its activities to assist with the Governmentís initiative towards the indigenous communities in the Northern Territory.
The Assistant Commissioner makes the point that a whole of government approach is utilised when deploying IDG officers. "There is no point in tackling law and order in isolation if there is a starving population," he said.
Thus the IDG works closely with AusAID, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), and the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The Assistant Commissioner views the relationship with the ADF as pivotal. Three AFP liaison officers are attached to the ADF to ensure that communication between the two organisations works well. When the IDG deploys with the ADF, agreement is reached on which organisation is the most appropriate to take the lead.
In the case of the Solomon Islands, the deployment is being led by police, whilst in the early days of East Timor, it was more appropriate for the ADF to be in charge. Jevtovic describes the relationship between the IDG and ADF as a "genuine and sincere commitment by both organisations". There is no doubt that the IDG personnel deployed abroad face dangerous situations, witness the tragic murder of Adam Dunning in the Solomon Islands in December 2004.
"Safety of our people is paramount in our thinking," he said.
To this end, robust and thorough risk and threat assessments are completed prior to any deployment and the IDG has staff devoted exclusively to this task.
Tender for armoured personnel carriers
This means that the IDG has to consider the purchase of equipment that would not normally be bought by western civil police organisations. Currently there is a tender out for armoured personnel carriers. Jevtovic strives to provide the most secure capability for his people and rightly points out that the use of protective vehicles could diminish "the need to use lethal force".
Training plays an important part for IDG officers prior to deployment. A 35 day course is provided and its diversity is illustrated by the fact that on one day officers might be studying cultural issues and the next day jumping out of a helicopter hovering a few feet above the ground simulating deployment in swampy conditions. Officers even have to barter for food for a few days.
The unique training given to IDG officers will be covered in more depth in the next issue of this magazine.
Australians should rightly be proud of the IDG and its officers. Some of its work is considered to be the worldís best practice and its reputation has been earned by hard work and innovation at all levels of the organisation.
IDG Fact File
The IDG missions and capacity development initiatives include:
- Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI)
- United Nations mission in Timor Leste
- Provision of Police advisors to the Timor Leste Police development program
- United Nations mission in Sudan
- United Nations Force in Cyprus
- Police assistance in Nauru
- Provision of Police advisors to the Vanuatu Police Force capacity building program
- Provision of Police advisors to Tonga
- Provision of a senior AFP technical advisor to the Cambodia criminal justice assistance project
- Northern Territory emergency response
- Provision of senior police advisors to the counter combined security transition command - Afghanistan and the Counter Narcotics Police of Afghanistan.
About the author: Nick O'Brien is Associate Professor, Counter Terrorism (CT) at Charles Sturt University. He started in CT in 1981 and was head of international CT operations and intelligence in Special Branch at New Scotland Yard in London before coming to Australia as CT liaison officer at the British High Commission.