Police
Websites/Multiple Documents
| Title: | | Myanmar Police Force |
| Description/subject: | | "[The] Myanmar Police Force, formally known as The People's Police Force, was established in 1964 as independent department under Ministry of Home Affairs. It was reorganised on 1 October 1995 and informally become part of Tatmadaw. Current Director General of Myanmar Police Force is Brigadier General Khin Yi with its headquarters at Yangon. Its command structure is based on established civil jurisdictions. Each of Myanmar's seven states and seven divisions has their own Police Forces with headquarters in the respective capital cities..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Wikipedia |
| Format/size: | | html, pdf |
| Date of entry/update: | | 08 October 2007 |
|
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Building a better police force |
| Date of publication: | | 13 June 2016 |
| Description/subject: | | "The Myanmar Police Force is understaffed, under-resourced and unliked but there are plans to improve its image through better training in a joint project with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime...The image of the Myanmar Police Force has long been tarnished by a reputation for corruption and brutality. The world watched appalled as police bashed protesters at Letpadan just over a year ago. It is common knowledge that suspects are often assaulted after being arrested. Deaths in custody are not unknown. Sex workers, gay and transgender suspects have been sexually assaulted at police stations, and there have been incidents when the police were curiously reluctant to intervene in incidents, such as when communal violence raged at Meiktila in March 2013.
“The calibre of Myanmar police is the lowest in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, let alone the international level,” said an MPF officer who participated in a US$10 million police reform program launched by the European Union in late 2013 that included training in crowd management and human rights. The officer spoke on condition of anonymity.
After the National League for Democracy government took office it launched a reform initiative for its first 100 days that included an emphasis on the rule of law and raising the image of the MPF..." |
| Author/creator: | | Htun Khaing |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Frontier Myanmar" |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 14 June 2016 |
|
| Title: | | The mean streets of Hlaing Tharyar |
| Date of publication: | | 28 August 2015 |
| Description/subject: | | "...While all-out street brawls might not be an everyday occurrence in Hlaing Tharyar, the township is awash with crime – everything from fistfights, robberies, rapes and extortion to assaults and home detentions by lenders against debtors.
A senior police officer from the Hlaing Tharyar Myoma Police Station said some of these cases are brought to the attention of police, but many others are “solved” by calling in local toughs who rely on intimidation.
Among the obstacles to maintaining rule of law in the township are the huge growth in population, and an insufficient police force. Last year’s census identified 684,700 residents, about half of whom are squatting illegally on land they do not own or rent. Many of these squatters are thought to have migrated to the area in the wake of Cyclone Nargis in May 2008..." |
| Author/creator: | | Khin Wine Phyu Phyu |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "Myanmar Times" |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 August 2015 |
|
| Title: | | Second thoughts on the civil unrest in Burma |
| Date of publication: | | 14 April 2015 |
| Description/subject: | | "Now that the dust has settled on last month's civil unrest in Burma, it is worth pausing to reflect on the protests and official responses to see if any important factors have escaped public attention. I am prompted to do so because the conventional narrative does not completely match what I heard in Rangoon at the time..." |
| Author/creator: | | Andrew Selth |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Interpreter" |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 May 2015 |
|
| Title: | | Myanmar police force needs more foreign help to reform |
| Date of publication: | | 03 December 2014 |
| Description/subject: | | "Two years ago, I wrote that the Myanmar Police Force (MPF) was gradually being recognised as a large, increasingly powerful and influential organisation that, in a more civilianised form, was likely to become a key instrument of state control under the hybrid civilian-military Government inaugurated in Naypyidaw in 2011.
Since then, there have been a growing number of reports in the news media suggesting that President Thein Sein's comprehensive reform program has slowed down, or even stalled. With that in mind, it is worth looking at the MPF again to see how the transition described in my 2012 post is going.
There have been some positive developments. The MPF has been restructured and includes several new departments, such as the aviation, maritime, border and tourist police. Some modern equipment has been acquired. A major recruitment program is underway and training institutions now provide courses on modern policing and human rights. Greater emphasis is being given to tackle transnational crime.
More importantly, perhaps, the MPF is emphasising a 'service-oriented approach' and giving a high priority to issues like accountability, transparency and respect for human rights. There is a new MPF code of conduct. Such rhetoric has been heard before, but recent statements by senior police officers seem to reflect a genuine wish to change the force's image, ethos and behaviour..." |
| Author/creator: | | Andrew Selth |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Interpreter" |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 May 2015 |
|
| Title: | | POLICE REFORM IN BURMA (MYANMAR): AIMS, OBSTACLES AND OUTCOMES |
| Date of publication: | | May 2013 |
| Description/subject: | | Executive Summary: "Despite all the publicity that Burma has received since the inauguration of a hybrid
military
-
civilian parliament in 2011, and the launch o
f an ambitious reform program by
President Thein Sein, there are some important issues which seem to have escaped
serious study. It has become clear, for example, that the new government wishes not
only to reinvigorate plans to expand and remodel the Myanm
ar Police Force (MPF), but
also to give it a more distinctive civilian style and ethos, and see it take greater
responsibility for some key aspects of the country
’
s internal security. Indeed, such steps
will be essential if Burma is to strengthen the rule
of law and make an orderly transition
to a genuine and sustainable democracy
.
The armed forces (
Tatmadaw
) will remain responsible for external defence and for
counter
-
insurgency campaigns against armed ethnic groups. However, it seems to be
envisaged that
, as part of the broad democratisation process, the MPF will assume a
greater role in terms of law enforcement and the maintenance of internal order. Already,
there are more blue uniforms than green uniforms on the streets protecting VIPs and
standing stat
ic guard outside diplomatic missions. The police can also be expected to
play a larger part in quelling civil unrest, with the army only called upon to provide aid to
the
‘
civil
’
power during emergencies, as occurred in Arakan (Rakhine) State in 2012 and
M
eiktila in 2013.
To this end, the MPF is being expanded, restructured and modernised. It is already larger
and more powerful than it has been since the colonial era, but the goal is a force of over
100,000 men and women, with 34
‘
combat
’
battalions. Recru
itment and officer corps
entry standards have been raised. At the same time, the MPF
’
s doctrine and training
programs are being changed to give greater emphasis to
‘
community
-
based policing
’
by
unarmed officers working in close cooperation with the civil p
opulation. This approach is
not completely new to Burma but, if fully and successfully adopted, it will be in stark
contrast to the tough paramilitary style of policing that has characterised the force since
General Ne Win
’
s 1962 coup.
As the Indonesian e
xample has shown, however, such a transition will be neither quick
nor easy. Burma
’
s armed forces remain very powerful. There will be some areas, such as
intelligence collection and internal security operations, where the interests of the MPF
and Tatmadaw
will overlap. The respective roles, responsibilities and associated benefits
of the two institutions may be sorted out
–
probably in the Tatmadaw
’
s favour
–
but
there is likely to be friction. Also, there are cultural issues in the police force which will
take a long time to resolve. Corruption and the abuse of power, for example, are
deeply
-
rooted problems that will be difficult to eradicate. Until they are, the force
’
s
relations with the general population will remain problematical.
Should the MPF be abl
e to reinvent itself, however, it has the potential to make a major
contribution to Thein Sein
’
s reform program and the development of a more democratic,
stable and humane society in Burma. Also, as an important civilian body answerable to
the public throu
gh an
‘
elec
ted
’
government, its behaviour
–
and treatment by the
g
overnment
–
will be important indicators of progress in current attempts to implement
the rule of law in Burma and make the security forces more accountable for their
actions" |
| Author/creator: | | Andrew Selth |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Griffith Asia Institute, Regional Outlook Paper |
| Format/size: | | pdf (338K-reduced version; 408K-original) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.griffith.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/512379/Regional-Outlook-Paper-44-v.2-Selth.p... |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 January 2015 |
|
| Title: | | Burma's police: The long road to reform |
| Date of publication: | | 13 December 2012 |
| Description/subject: | | "...The MPF is gradually being recognised as a large, increasingly powerful and influential organisation that, in a more modern and civilianised form, seems likely to become a key instrument of state control under the mixed civilian-military government inaugurated in Naypyidaw in March 2011.
Even before President Thein Sein came to power, an effort was being made to expand the MPF's capabilities, improve its performance and reform its culture. The force is now about 80,000 strong, which gives an estimated ratio of one policeman for every 750 Burmese citizens. (Australia's national average is about 1:350). This includes 18 battalions of paramilitary police, specially equipped to respond to serious outbreaks of civil unrest such as that seen in Arakan (Rakhine) State earlier this year.
The MPF is grappling with a wide range of problems, with the aim of creating a more professional force. Loyalty to government is still valued highly, but there is now a greater emphasis in training courses on personal discipline and an increased focus on community policing. Officer recruitment standards have been raised and specialised instruction at all levels has increased. Some steps have been taken to deal with corruption and further measures have been promised..." |
| Author/creator: | | Andrew Selth |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Interpreter" |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 02 May 2015 |
|
|
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