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Security situation in Timor-Leste quiet, UN police chief says

7 August – The security situation in Timor-Leste has been very quiet over the past few months, with none of the problems experienced late in 2002 and early this year reoccurring, the top United Nations police official in the country said today.

Sandra Peisley, the newly appointed Police Commissioner for the UN Mission of Support in East Timor (UNMISET), told a press briefing at UN Headquarters in New York that there had not been any similar incidents to the ones experienced in December 2002 and January 2003. At that time, UN peacekeepers and police were called in to restore order in the capital, Dili, following a violent demonstration involving more than 600 people that left one student dead, a Timorese parliamentarian injured and several government building damaged. Seven suspects were arrested in the burning of the house of Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri while 10 others were apprehended for looting.

She noted that compared to other countries, Timor-Leste had a low crime rate, with some 80 per cent of the offences occurring in Dili. The majority of the operational side of policing work in Timor-Leste focused on crimes such as assault, domestic violence and traffic violations, she added.

Describing the UN police's role in Timor-Leste and her focus as Commissioner, Ms. Peisley, who assumed her duties on 23 June, said the world body had a two-pronged role: both an operational responsibility for law enforcement as well as a responsibility for the development of the local police service.

In terms of development, UN police focused on training and providing advice and assistance to the Timor-Leste force. Both formal training, at a police college and operational "on the job" training, were provided.

Ms. Peisley said her personal focus as Commissioner had been to look at the current infrastructure of the Timor-Leste police service, specifically what further work needed to be done to generate a solid middle management capability within the service. She would also work to ensure that the police service was not only professional, but also open, transparent and accountable.