US embassy cable - 04MAPUTO1114

UNCLAS MAPUTO 001114 
 
SIPDIS 
FOR INL/AAE, DS DSS/IP/AF 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC, PHUM, SNAR, KHIV, MZ, KCRM 
SUBJECT: STATE OF AFFAIRS OF MOZAMBICAN POLICE AND 
PROMISING PROGRAMS FOR FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF MOZAMBICAN LAW 
ENFORCEMENT 
 
 
1. SUMMARY. Over a period of three days, Ambassador and 
acting RSO met with the commissioner of the Mozambican 
national police (PRM), Miguel dos Santos, and the 
spokesperson of the PRM and head of the Community Policing 
Program, Nataniel Macama. Notable issues discussed included 
the state of crime in Mozambique, border security, activities 
at the police academy, community policing, and the effect of 
HIV/AIDS on the police force. Although positive programs are 
in place to strengthen police capacity, Mozambique lacks the 
resources necessary to adequately protect its borders and 
control crime. Cooperation between the USG and the PRM is 
good. END SUMMARY. 
 
2. Major areas of criminal activity in Mozambique range from 
street crime, to drug use and smuggling, and poor monitoring 
of the use of Mozambique's dwindling natural resources. 
Hashish and marijuana are the two most common drugs moving 
through and in use in Mozambique (imported from east Asia). 
Due to porous and poorly controlled land and sea borders, 
control of trafficking in illegal drugs is difficult. 
Mozambique does not have the capacity or resources necessary 
to control its vast borders. Mozambique has 2700 km of 
seacoast but zero sea vessels to patrol this vast coastline. 
The PRM has developed a maritime police unit and has trained 
approximately 100 maritime police officers to date, but no 
resources have been made available to put these initial 
efforts into practice. The PRM is also unable to cope with 
the large amounts of illegal fishing and logging due to this 
same lack of resources. 
 
3. The PRM has been successful, however, in combating street 
crime and drug use on the street, through the development of 
a Community Policing Program. This program was developed with 
the assistance of the German government to create a system 
similar to a neighborhood watch program. Trusted community 
leaders are elected to lead the community policing efforts in 
specific neighborhoods. These leaders discourage people in 
the community from committing crimes and report incidents to 
the police. The program empowers people in the community to 
take responsibility in their community, but it does not give 
them the authority to take matters into their own hands. Thus 
far, approximately 300 communities throughout Mozambique have 
joined this program. Statistically, street crime is on a 
decline in Maputo and in the rest of Mozambique, which has 
been attributed to this program. A specific example is an 
area in Maputo that used to be nicknamed "Colombia", for the 
high amount of illegal drug sales and use, which no longer 
carries this moniker due to the reduction of criminal 
activity. 
 
4. The success of this program has been hindered by the lack 
of some critical elements necessary to communicate with the 
police when a crime occurs. Although community leaders are 
more involved with the police, many of these communities lack 
phones or other means of communication. Many times, a person 
is sent many kilometers to the nearest police station to 
report a crime. The US Department of State through the 
American Embassy Maputo and the International Narcotics and 
Law Enforcement (INL) office, and with the Assistance of the 
International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance 
Program (ICITAP), have proposed a community policing program 
in the form of equipping and training police officers on 
bicycles. This program, previously applied in Ghana, would 
allow the police easier access to reach out to the community 
and aid the communication process between the police and the 
community. 
 
5. Combating HIV/AIDS is a looming challenge for Mozambique 
and the PRM does not escape this challenge. Thirty to forty 
police officers die monthly from complications related to 
HIV/AIDS. Yearly, the police force graduates 1000 new 
recruits, but loses 600 officers to HIV/AIDS. Although 
efforts have been made to combat the epidemic in the police 
force, resources are limited. Post has initiated plans to 
incorporate efforts to aid the PRM in combating HIV/AIDS in 
the PEPFAR strategic plan. 
 
6. Both Commandant dos Santos and Mr. Macama were 
appreciative of the assistance that the US government has 
provided the PRM. Commandant dos Santos offered his continued 
support in ensuring the safety and security of the US mission 
and the fight against global terrorism. 
LA LIME