Kabul, June 2012.  The Police Staff College was transformed into a movie set for several hours for a scene in the Afghan police serial "Commissar Amanullah". Shot was a fictional training in which Major Amanullah and EUPOL's tutor Terry Scaife were lecturing on 'Community policing'. Their audience listened with professional interest: the young students, among them many women, were not actors but actual young recruits for the Afghan police force. The pilot out of 20 episodes has been aired on 7 June on Afghan Television Network (ATN). 

Kabul, June 2012. On the dusty ground in Police District 12 in Kabul, it appears like the work on an oilfield started – only that the construction workers are not drilling for precious oil but for the local water supply needed for the New Staff College. The preparatory works for the construction of the new Police Staff College by two subcontracted construction companies are now in full swing.

Kabul, June 2012. “The will to cooperate that dominated the event undoubtedly gives hope that lawyers and police will find solutions to the challenges identified during the last two days”, concluded Allan Dahl, EUPOL Justice Unit Chief, at the closure of a two-day workshop entitled “Strengthening Cooperation between Police, Defence Lawyers and Legal Aid Providers in Afghanistan”. The event, which took place at the Park Star Hotel in Kabul on 16 and 17 June, brought together over 100 participants representing the Ministry of Justice’s (MOJ) Legal Aid Department, the Ministry of Interior’s (MOI) Department of Legal Affairs as well as the Afghan Independent Bar Association (AIBA) and NGOs providing legal aid.

Kabul, June 2012. Afghanistan’s Minister of Interior, Bismillah Khan Mohammadi, called into the police Staff College in Kabul for the first time. He met with a number of EUPOL Afghanistan training staff and expressed his confidence and enthusiasm in the joint project between EUPOL and the ANP General Training Command. His visit coincides with construction work beginning in early June on the new build police Staff College in Police District 12 funded by the EU in Kabul.  

Kabul, June 2012. EUPOL Afghanistan advises and mentors the Chiefs of the Civilian Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) at the Attorney General's Office (AGO). Both mentor and mentee describe their relationship as "trustworthy and "fruitful". 

Kabul, May 2012. 175 ANP officers seeking promotion to Major felt the heat of exam pressure at the end of May as they undertook their final examinations at the conclusion of the "Future Leaders programme", in the bright sunshine at the Staff College car park. This was the final act of a course which commenced back in February following a national selection process to find the best Captains.  The successful applicants have received intense training at Staff College to fast track them for promotion.

Kabul, May 2012. Military prosecutor Major Saidullah looks puzzled. “How did you deal with such cases back in Romania?” he enquires of his mentor. A vivid discussion on how best to proceed with embezzlement cases ensues, during which EUPOL’s Florin Ungureanu shares many an experience from his years as AGO judicial police investigator and Chief Commissar in Iasi. Meanwhile, a few kilometers down the road, Arnaud Braem is busy brainstorming with Abdul Qader Roshangar, the Minister of Interior’s Legal Adviser.

Kabul, May 2012. Forging strong links at the strategic training level between the Police and the Army: This was the intent of a seminar for students and instructors of the Afghan National Army (ANA) Strategic Command and Staff Course hosted by the Police Staff College in May. The seminar was a follow-up of a presentation about EUPOL Afghanistan to the ANA Strategic Command and Staff Course by Chief Inspector Ed Henriet in April.

Kabul, May 2012. The “Who’s Who” of the Afghan Ministries and the International Community gathered in May to discuss the future of the Afghan National Police (ANP) at the conference entitled “ANP and Ministry of Interior (MOI) Development: from transition to transformation”.