Reform of the Haitian National Police (PNH) remained one of the country’s most pressing governance challenges in 2019, as an institution that was simultaneously expected to manage unprecedented protest activity, combat rising gang violence, and maintain public order was doing all of this without adequate resources, training, oversight, or accountability.
The PNH, created after the dissolution of the Haitian military in 1995, had never been fully staffed to the levels recommended for a country of Haiti’s size. Underpaid, under-equipped, and operating in a political environment that complicated all law enforcement functions, many officers struggled to maintain professional standards under conditions that pushed in the opposite direction.
Human rights organizations documented multiple cases of excessive force by police during the protest movements of 2019, including the use of live ammunition against demonstrators in circumstances that did not justify lethal force. Investigations into these incidents were promised but seldom concluded. Accountability for police abuses remained largely theoretical.
At the same time, police officers who were trying to do their jobs professionally described the pressures they faced: political interference in operational decisions, inadequate equipment, low salaries that made corruption a tempting option, and physical danger in neighborhoods controlled by armed gangs. Police reform, they argued, required attention to the conditions of officers as well as the standards expected of them.