Kabul, March 2013. Police District 9 (PD9) in Kabul is on the way to be connected to the National Information Management System (NIMS) of the Afghan Police. When the system will be operative it will allow each police station in the country to be in connection with the others and with the Ministry of Interior (MoI) through a secure and protected network. This software is a comprehensive database storing all kind of information related to the police duty which will increase police efficiency. The establishment of NIMS for interviews close to the Criminal Investigation Department section within the PD9 is an important contribution to enhance the national data sharing inside the police. Funded by NTMA, EUPOL participates actively to its implementation and use.

Bramshill. After much discussion, Major General Sebghatullah Saheq, Staff College Commander, read out the new Mission Statement for the Staff College: "Supporting the community, by providing high quality opportunities in the areas of development, improvement and leadership of the ANP, through higher education. Enhancing capabilities and competencies in coordination with other relevant stakeholders, enabling the best service to society". This was only one of the outcomes from a recent visit to the UK Staff College at Bramshill.

Pul-e Khomri, March 2013.  Ring, ring, ring...  The phone is ringing at the EUPOL Field Office in Pul-e-Khomri (Pul-e-K), no one answers. On the tenth of March this year it will be so and EUPOL officer Zsolt Szalay, Head of this Field Office and his team, will have left. As their Afghan counterparts express their gratitude and concern about the departure, the EUPOL trainers will be sadly missed. The beginning of March will be the final curtain for this small but effective team in Pul-e Khomri. Then, ‘Call 100,’ the phone number for community outreach will be one of the legacies of EUPOL’s presence.  EUPOL members trained the staff for this police hotline - available 24/7 for the citizens of Pol-e-K.

Mazar-e Sharif, March 2013.“We need to develop further but the case-management system is a very important step in the development of our judicial system”, judge Fazal Rahman Fazli, Chief of Balkh Province Court of Appeals emphasizes. The 45 year old Chief had thirty computers installed and is now able to monitor most cases of his Court. The transparency of the decisions and the accountability of his judges is one of the many challenges his court faces; that is why the case-management system is so important. In the five years Fazli has been on his post, he worked diligently to improve the way his court works. “Still there is a lot to do.

Kunduz, February 2013. “I never said that, these people don’t speak the truth!”  The Criminal Investigation Chief looks at his colleagues of the Provincial Command Team in Kunduz searching for support and a glimpse of encouragement in the eyes of EUPOL Mentor Hanneke Brouwer. It is ice cold in the classroom and the temperature drops a few degrees more, while the CID-chief apologizes for insulting the mentor of General Andarabi, his boss, the Provincial Chief of Kunduz. The team waits for more to come.  Obviously there is a crisis and the story unfolds.

Baghlan, February 2013. A new Helpline “Call 100” for community outreach was introduced in a ceremony at the police headquarter of Baghlan Province. The Helpline is a big step forward and established by EUPOL as a support to Police-e Mardume (Community Policing) process. Crimes, corruption cases, other violations of law and fire emergency can be reported. Citizens of Baghlan call 100 and a police officer will answer the call 24/7, giving assistance and help for the people living or travelling across the province.

Kabul, February 2013. The rather poor fitness level of the Afghan National Police (ANP) was at the heart of the first meeting between the President of the Afghan Olympic Committee, Mohammad Zaher Aghbar and EUPOL Head of Mission, Karl Åke Roghe. “Especially the leadership of the police and also our army gained weight and we have to slim them down again,” said Aghbar and promised the Afghan police to provide them fitness coaches for free of charge. For this initiative, Karl Åke Roghe, promised him “full support”. Having been an active athlete in kayaking, he knows the value of sport on many levels. “The police must be fit for fight, otherwise they are not able to conduct their tasks and operations properly,” he said.