Haiti's newly installed government has announced the replacement of the head of the embattled national police force, in the latest effort to respond to gang violence in the crisis-stricken country.
Police chief Frantz Elbe will be replaced by former chief Rameau Normil, the prime minister's office confirmed.
The move comes as Haiti's new Prime Minister Garry Conille has faced increased pressure to strengthen the Haitian National Police. Unfortunately, the force remains underfunded and underequipped despite being at the forefront of the battle against powerful armed gangs in the Caribbean country.
Conille himself was installed by a transitional council in May after gangs earlier this year seized large areas of the capital, Port-au-Prince, and deposed former Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
Speaking to the Reuters news agency after the change was announced on Friday, Pierre Esperance of the National Network for the Defense of Human Rights (RNDDH) described Elbe's time as police chief as “catastrophic.”
“Elbe's results at the head of the police are catastrophic,” Esperance said, adding that he believed Elbe should be prosecuted.
“He spent all his time building relationships with the gangs, reinforcing them and preventing police officers from doing their jobs and risking their lives,” he said.
Haiti's police unions have also repeatedly called for Elbe's resignation and arrest, pointing to gang raids on at least 30 police stations and substations in recent months as part of a series of attacks that began on February 29.
On Wednesday, the SPNH-17 police union called a news conference condemning the state of the department under Elba. SYNAPOHA, another police union, joined Conille's call to bolster the department earlier this week.
The latest development came as Haiti was still awaiting the deployment of a Kenyan-led and UN-backed multinational security force, made up of 1,000 Kenyan officers as well as personnel from a handful of Caribbean countries.
That force was supposed to deploy in late May, but its arrival has been repeatedly delayed.
For his part, Normil had headed the national police from mid-2019 to the end of 2020 during the government of former president Jovenel Moise, assassinated in 2021.
Before that, he supervised the detective division. The effective date of the replacement was not immediately clear.
Fight against gang violence
Haiti's dwindling police force has suffered from a lack of resources as it battles criminal groups armed with high-caliber weapons that the UN says are largely trafficked from the nearby United States.
In 2023, the police force had just over 13,200 troops, according to the UN. The international organization has warned that only about 4,000 police officers are on duty at any given time in a country of 11 million people.
Meanwhile, a recent RNDDH survey found that 20 police officers have been killed so far this year, and more than 320 since 2015.
Common complaints from police officers included late pay, insufficient training, workplace harassment, threats of dismissal, stab and firearm injuries, and equipment shortages.
However, Haiti's new government led by Conille has promised to bring about change.
“Haiti faces great challenges. Violence and instability paralyze our daily lives,” Conille said at an official ceremony on Wednesday.
“My government will work tirelessly to improve the conditions of each and every Haitian,” he said, adding that “without security no sustainable progress can be achieved.”
“It is critical that our police officers and soldiers are prepared to meet today's security challenges,” Conille added, “and we will ensure they have the tools they need to carry out their mission effectively and professionally.”
For its part, Haiti's ombudsman, the Citizen Protection Office, has called on Normil to develop a plan to control gangs and improve the police force “without delay.”
He has also asked authorities to offer explanations for the high murder rate and the “spectacular” recent escape of some 4,500 prisoners under the “complete indifference” of previous authorities.
Gang violence in Haiti has forced 578,000 people to flee their homes, according to the latest UN estimates. Thousands of people have died and millions have been driven into extreme hunger amid the unrest.
