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US led forces in Afghanistan are increasing their efforts to train a professional Afghan national police force. But as the CBC’s Derek Stoffel reports from Kandahar, that force is plagued by corruption and low pay.

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MARCO WERMAN: NATO troops in Afghanistan are increasing efforts to train the Afghan National Police but the obstacles to transforming the Afghan Police into a credible professional force are substantial.  The CBC’s Derek Stoffel is embedded with the Canadian military in Kandahar.

DEREK STOFFEL: There are currently about 96,000 Afghan Police officers.  The goal is to bolster the ranks by 30,000 by the end of next year.  It’ll be a tough target to meet, but slowly new officers are entering the force.  A police graduation ceremony was held last week just outside of Kandahar city.  Four of the new officers prayed that they’ll be able to help keep Afghanistan safe.  The officers saluted as they accepted a certificate that welcomed them into the Afghan National Police.  348 men, including Amir Jan were sworn in.  Jan says it is dangerous work, but I want to serve and protect my country.  But these new police face many challenges.  Most patrolmen cannot read or write.  That makes recording a simple license plate number a difficult task.  One in five recruits tests positive for drug use and General Nasralah Zarifi admits that corruption remains widespread.  Zarifi is in charge of training new officers in southern Afghanistan.  General Zarifi says the police leadership is committed to take on corruption.  He cites a local case.  A senior police officer at Kandahar’s main jail was accused of taking bribes.  Zarifi says that officer will face prosecution.  Another serious issue faces the police; desertion.  Two rows of officers stood at attention at the graduation ceremony.  They’ll get paid $165.00 a month, but they can make up to four times that if they leave the police and go work for a private security firm and that’s a thorny problem, says Canadian Major General Michael Ward who is in charge of NATO police training.

MICHAEL WARD:  Its one that I think is a difficult challenge because so much of the international community relies on personal security companies for their immediate security.

STOFFEL: The Afghan government wants to stop the poaching of police officers by private firms.  It’s implementing new rules aimed at blocking those companies from luring new officers.  After all, in the struggle to build up the Afghan National Police Force every officer counts.  For The World, I’m Derek Stoffel in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

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