Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

National Police, Port-au-Prince
Courtesy United States Agency for International Development
with patrol, arrest, and investigative techniques. Haitian
instructors are scheduled to fill all positions at the academy.
The highest 10 percent of the members of the initial classes
received additional training for supervisory positions. Other
members of each class were selected to receive additional investigative
training for service in the Judicial Police. Women comprised
about 7 percent of the original classes and were assigned
to regular patrol duties after graduation.
The monthly salary ranges between US$250 and US$400,
with sergeants earning US$500-600. These wages are generous
by Haitian standards. Nevertheless, the police have demonstrated
for higher rates on the grounds that higher salaries will
reduce a force member's temptation to resort to bribery and
drug trafficking. However, it seems unlikely that the Haitian
government can afford to maintain this pay scale if the economy
continues to decline. In 1998 consideration was being
given to establishing a separate rural police force that would be
less well paid and have lower entrance standards. Many PNH
recruits are reluctant to serve outside Port-au-Prince, in some
cases because they are concurrently continuing university studies.
However, a policy of redeployment has been instituted to
bring police who have served in rural areas for several years
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