Law enforcement in Afghanistan is one of three major components of the nation's

criminal justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

system, along with

courts A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accorda ...

and

corrections In criminal justice, particularly in North America, correction, corrections, and correctional, are umbrella terms describing a variety of functions typically carried out by government agencies, and involving the punishment, treatment, and s ...

. The

General Directorate of Intelligence prs, ریاست عمومی استخبارات , native_name_a = , native_name_r = , type = , seal = , seal_size = 125px , seal_caption = Logo of the General Directorate of Intelligence , seal_alt ...

(GDI) is the

intelligence agency An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objectives. Means of inf ...

of the government of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is borde ...

. The

Afghan National Police The Afghan National Police (ANP; ps, د افغانستان ملي پولیس; prs, پلیس ملی افغانستان), is the national police force of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, serving as a single law enforcement agency all across ...

, which includes the

Afghan Border Police The Afghan Border Force (ABF) was responsible for security of Afghanistan's border area with neighboring countries extending up to into the interior and formed part of the Afghan National Army. In December 2017, most of the Afghan Border Police ...

and the

Afghan National Civil Order Police The Afghan National Civil Order Force (ANCOF), formerly known as the Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP), was an Afghan National Army (ANA) force responsible for civil order and counterinsurgency. In March 2018, most of the ANCOP personnel ...

, was the

police force The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

of Afghanistan with

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' + 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, areas of jurisdiction apply to local, state, and federal levels. J ...

that covers the entire 34 provinces of the country during the Islamic Republic period. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan currently relies on the

Islamic Emirate Army The Army of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (), also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be tr ...

to handle border protection and public order issues. The Afghan Border Police (ABP) was responsible for securing and maintaining the nation's borders with neighboring states as well as all international airports within the country. The mission of the Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP) was to provide civil order presence patrols, prevent violent public incidents, and provide crisis and anti-terror response in urban and metropolitan environments. Like the ABP, ANCOP was also under the control of the Afghan National Police (ANP), which was under the nation's

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministr ...

. ANCOP was divided into five Brigades, each commanded by a Brigadier General. These brigades were stationed in

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into #Districts, 22 municipal dist ...

Paktia Paktia ( Pashto/ Dari: – ''Paktyā'') is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the east of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktia Province is divided into 15 districts and has a population of roughl ...

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...

Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safē ...

, and

Mazar-i-Sharif , official_name = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , pushpin_map = Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_label = Mazar-i-Sharif , pushpin ...

. All law enforcement agencies of the

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was a presidential republic that ruled Afghanistan from 2004 to 2021. The state was established to replace the Afghan interim (2001–2002) and transitional (2002–2004) administrations, which were form ...

were set up and trained by the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

(NATO) states, initially by Germany (see Sedra 2017) but then mainly by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. In 2003 the mandate of the

International Security Assistance Force The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386, Resolution 1386 pursua ...

(ISAF), under the command of NATO, was extended and expanded beyond the

Kabul Province Kabul (Persian: ), situated in the east of the country, is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. The capital of the province is Kabul city, which is also Afghanistan's capital and largest city. The population of the Kabul Province i ...

. In some areas unoccupied by ISAF forces, local militias maintained control though being partially disarmed under programs started by the

United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs The UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) (french: Bureau des affaires du désarmement) is an Office of the United Nations Secretariat established in January 1998 as the Department for Disarmament Affairs, part of United Nations Secretary-Gen ...

. In 2007 the

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philipp ...

(DOD) began supervising most police development, in conjunction with the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

, as well as smaller allies partners. This includes supervising recruiting, training, and operations. DOD components, primarily from the

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

, as well as other branches, began mentoring the Afghan police commanders at every level of command. This police mentoring initiative was headquartered in

Camp Phoenix Camp Qargha, was an Afghan National Army facility which was home to its Officer Academy. The Afghan Army was supported by mentors from the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Denmark. The facility was located in Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ...

as part of Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix (CJTF Phoenix, also known as

Task Force Phoenix Task Force Phoenix, or more properly known as Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix (CJTF Phoenix), was an international military formation. It was organized by the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) in 2003-2004 to train and mentor the newly cre ...

). As of May 2011, the Afghan National Police had 126,000 members while the NDS had between 15,000 and 30,000 employees.

Historical secret police organizations

* Khedamat-e Etelea'at-e Dawlati (KHAD) *

National Directorate of Security The National Directorate of Security (NDS; ps, د ملي امنیت لوی ریاست; prs, ریاست عمومی امنیت ملی) was the national intelligence and security service of Afghanistan. The headquarters of the NDS was in Kabul, ...

(NDS)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Law Enforcement In Afghanistan

Historical secret police organizations

See also

References