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National Police of Timor-Leste

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National Police of Timor-Leste
Polísia Nasionál Timór Lorosa'e
Polícia Nacional de Timor-Leste
Badge of the National Police of Timor-Leste
Badge of the National Police of Timor-Leste
AbbreviationPNTL
MottoServir e Proteger
Serve and Protect
Agency overview
Formed2000; 25 years ago (2000)
Preceding agency
Legal personalityPolice service
Jurisdictional structure
National agencyTimor-Leste
Operations jurisdictionTimor-Leste
Governing bodyMinistry of the Interior
General nature
Operational structure
HeadquartersDili, Timor-Leste
Police officers4,337 (2024)
Elected officer responsible
Agency executive
Website
www.pntl.tl

The National Police of Timor-Leste (PNTL; Portuguese: Polícia Nacional de Timor-Leste; Tetum: Polísia Nasionál Timór Lorosa'e) is the national police force of Timor-Leste.

History

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Background

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During the Indonesian occupation, the East Timor Regional Police [id] (Indonesian: Kepolisian Daerah Timor Timur or Polda) was responsible for law enforcement in East Timor. Polda dissolved just prior to the August 1999 East Timorese independence referendum,[1] though up to 8,000 Indonesian police officers remained in the country during the referendum and the violence that followed.[2] A 300-strong United Nations police force, which arrived in May 1999 to advise the Indonesian police and help maintain security during the referendum, was also present during this period.[3][4] After the referendum, most police officers withdrew across the land border into Indonesian West Timor.[5]

Formation and early development

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In October 1999, the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) assumed responsibility for law enforcement and internal security in the country.[5][6] Between 2000–2002, more than 1,600 UN Civilian Police (CivPol) were deployed, with executive policing authority.[5] From the start, UNTAET gave significant attention to the development of a police force, with US$4.3 million budgeted in 2000–2001 and plans to recruit 3,000 officers.[5][7][8][9][10] An extensive recruitment drive was carried out in early 2000, with more than 12,000 applicants for the first cohort of 150 recruits.[8] The new East Timor Police Training College opened in Dili to its first class of 50 cadets—39 men and 11 women—on 27 March 2000.[9] This date is recognized by the government of Timor-Leste as the foundation of the PNTL.[11] The first 50 cadets graduated from the police academy on 11 July 2000 after a three-month course and were deployed to their home districts for another three months of on-the-job training.[10]

On 10 August 2001, the East Timor Police Service (ETPS) was officially established, working alongside the UN's Civilian Police (CivPol).[12][13] A group of 370 East Timorese former members of the old Indonesian police force were integrated into the ETPS after an intensive four-week training course, forming the core of the new police service.[5][6][13] With memory still fresh of the brutality of the Indonesian security services during the occupation period, the recruitment of Indonesian-era police officers into the ETPS was controversial.[13] It also contrasted with the Timor-Leste Defence Force (F-FDTL), whose membership comprised former Falintil guerrilla fighters who had fought against the Indonesians.[13] Some former Falintil fighters were also fast-tracked into the police service, but they were outnumbered by the former Indonesian-era police officers.[13] An additional 150 former guerrillas were recruited into the police in March 2003 amid public pressure.[13] This tension, along with a lack of clear delineation of functions between the two forces, led to emergence of turf wars between the police and military during the early years of independence.[13][14]

During UNTAET's administration, 1,700 officers were recruited and trained for the new police service.[5] During this period, the recruitment criteria required that applicants: be of good character and a resident of Timor-Leste; be between ages 18—35; know at least one of the languages of Timor-Leste; pass the required physical and medical tests; pass a selection interview; and receive community approval.[13] The selection process under UNTAET had a heavy Western bias, often favoring, for example, candidates with knowledge of English—which is not one of Timor-Leste's national languages.[13] Recruitment was also politicized, as the vetting process was heavily influenced by the politically dominant Conselho Nacional de Resistência Timorense organization.[13]

Timor-Leste gained independence in 2002, and the East Timor Police Service was renamed the Timor-Leste Police Service (TLPS).[15] Shortly thereafter, it adopted its current name, Policia Nacional de Timor Leste (PNTL).[14] UNTAET was dissolved that same year, and was succeeded by the United Nations Mission of Support to East Timor (UNMISET) until 2005.[16] For two years after independence, the United Nations continued to hold control of policing and was responsible for helping develop the PNTL.[6][14] An East Timorese police chief, Paulo de Fátima Martins [de], had been appointed in 2001, but he held no real authority.[6][17]

The UN and its police service, CivPol, faced steep challenges in establishing and training the PNTL.[5][6][13] UN police personnel were not always well-trained or qualified, served in Timor-Leste for short (often six-month) rotations, and generally lacked prior knowledge of East Timorese culture and history.[13][6] CivPol struggled with planning and competency, failing to develop effective operational, management, and accountability structures for the new police service.[5][6][13] The UN administration prioritized getting officers on the street rather than institution building, and did not develop a comprehensive plan for the PNTL until late 2001.[6][13] Moreover, the fast-tracking of former Indonesian-era police officers and Falintil fighters was perceived as favoritism by other recruits and created tensions within the police.[6][13]

Transition to Timorese control

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In 2004, parliament passed the PNTL's first organic law (Decree-Law No. 8/2004), laying out its structure and authority.[18] That year, the United Nations handed over control of policing to the government of Timor-Leste, which inherited a weak and underdeveloped institution.[6][14] The police then fell under the control of the Ministry of the Interior, led by Rogério Lobato, whose controversial tenure was marked by the politicization, militarization, and internal fracturing of the PNTL, and a growing rivalry with the military.[6][13][19]

Following inadequate responses by Timor-Leste's security services to two serious incidents of violence, Lobato established new special units within the PNTL.[6][13] A new riot police unit, the Unidade Intervenção Rápida (UIR), was formed after violence erupted in Dili in December 2002, during which the PNTL had responded with indiscriminate gunfire, killing five people.[13][20] A new border guard unit, the Unidade de Patrulhamento de Fronteira (UPF), was created after armed groups, including former pro-Indonesia militia members, killed five people in villages around Atsabe, near the Indonesian border, in January 2003.[13] The UIR and UPF had around 200 and 300 members, respectively, compared to the PNTL's strength of 2,800 regular police officers.[13] The new units received paramilitary training and were armed with high-powered weapons, including assault rifles.[6][13][19] The UIR in particular projected a "macho" image, often conspicuously displaying riot gear and heavy weaponry at public events.[13] Despite concerns that these units had been formed for political rather than purely security purposes, the UN assisted in their training and arming.[6]

These new units contributed to public perception that the police were being politicized and militarized, and further obscured the separation of duties between the PNTL and F-FDTL, contributing to a growing rivalry between the police and the defense force.[13][19] In creating the UIR and UPF units, Lobato set up parallel chains of command within the PNTL.[6] This, along with Lobato's tendency to issue direct operation orders and his selective treatment of disciplinary cases, exacerbated existing divisions within the police between officers from the eastern and western parts of the country, as well as between former Indonesian-era police officers and newer recruits.[6] During this period, several factions formed within the PNTL, including the "Polícia Nationalista" group, made up of "easterner" police officers opposed to Lobato, who was of western origin.[13]

2006 crisis and aftermath

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On 18 February 2009, a second and current organic law of the PNTL (Decree-Law No. 9/2009) was promulgated.[13]

Structure

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There are at least three special units within the PNTL: the Police Reserve Unit, formerly the Rapid Deployment Service; the Border Patrol Unit (Unidade de Patrulhamento de Fronteiras, UPF); and the Rapid Intervention Unit, or UIR, modeled after the Portuguese National Republican Guard riot police, which served in East Timor before its independence.[21] The PNTL has 4,337 sworn officers as of 2024.[22]

Equipment

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Firearms

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  • National Police of Timor-Leste officers
    National Police of Timor-Leste officers
  • National Police of Timor-Leste officers
    National Police of Timor-Leste officers
  • PNTL PWC-25TL APCs with water cannons[24]
    PNTL PWC-25TL APCs with water cannons[24]
  • Police station at Bobonaro Village
    Police station at Bobonaro Village

Historical police emblems

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Criticism

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From its early years of existence, the PNTL has been criticized for issues including excessive use of force, arbitrary detention and abuse of detainees, politicization, inadequate training, unprofessionalism, sexual misconduct, and a lack of effective oversight.[13][14]

Excessive use of force

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Amnesty International reported that in 2002, PNTL officers shot and killed three people while responding to public disturbances in the cities of Dili and Baucau.[14]

There are accusation that some PNTL officers have tortured prisoners who have been arrested.[25]

In August 2017, the PNTL was criticized by Fundasaun Mahein for allowing its officers to be visible with heavy weapons since it undermines the force's community policing strategy.[26]

On 18 November 2018, PNTL officer José Mina, shot dead three young men during a party in the neighborhood of Kulu Hun in Dili.[27]

References

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  1. ^ Hayati, Istiqomatul (17 December 2003). "Kapolri Melikuidasi Polda Timor Timur" [Chief Liquidates East Timor Police]. Tempo (in Indonesian). Archived from the original on 27 September 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  2. ^ "Background Briefing: Questions and Answers on East Timor". Human Rights Watch. 8 September 1999. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  3. ^ "First UN police officer arrives for mammoth East Timor task". AFP. 9 May 1999. Retrieved 21 July 2025 – via ETAN.
  4. ^ "Civilian Police Officers, members of the United Nations Mission East Timor (UNAMET) during a ..." Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Wassel, Todd (March 2014). Institutionalising community policing in Timor-Leste: Police development in Asia's youngest country (PDF). The Asia Foundation. pp. 5–15. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Handing Back Responsibility to Timor-Leste's Police (PDF). Asia Report N°180. International Crisis Group. 3 December 2009. pp. 1–15. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  7. ^ "Regulation No. 2000/21: Appropriations (No.1) 2000-2001" (PDF). United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor. 30 June 2000. p. 4. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  8. ^ a b Dodd, Mark (6 May 2000). "Signs of progress emerge from rubble". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 July 2025 – via ETAN.
  9. ^ a b "East Timor police training college opens with 50 cadets". UN Peacekeeping. 27 March 2000. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  10. ^ a b "First Working Day of East Timorese Police Cadets". UNTAET Daily Briefing. 12 July 2000. Retrieved 21 July 2025 – via ReliefWeb.
  11. ^ "PNTL: from 2000 to 2011". Government of Timor-Leste. 11 May 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  12. ^ "Regulation No. 2000/21: On the Establishment of the East Timor Police Service" (PDF). United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor. 10 August 2001. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Myrttinen, Henri (2009). Poster Boys No More: Gender and Security Sector Reform in Timor-Leste (PDF). Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces. pp. 23–33. ISBN 978-92-9222-111-9. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
  14. ^ a b c d e f "Timor-Leste: New police not yet capable of maintaining law and order and protecting human rights". Amnesty International. 1 July 2003. Retrieved 24 July 2025 – via ReliefWeb.
  15. ^ Peake, Gordon; Scheye, Eric; Hills, Alice, eds. (13 September 2013). Managing Insecurity: Field Experiences of Security Sector Reform. Routledge. p. 73. ISBN 978-1-317-99666-8.
  16. ^ "Timeline of the five UN missions that served Timor-Leste from 1999 to 2012". Momentum. United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste. 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  17. ^ "Notification No. 2001/20: On the Appointment of the Police Commissioner of the East Timor Police Service" (PDF). United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor. 15 October 2001. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  18. ^ "Unidade Polisiamentu Komunitária" [Community Policing Unit]. PNTL (in Tetum). Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  19. ^ a b c Head, Jonathan (29 May 2006). "E Timor nationhood proves rocky path". BBC. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  20. ^ "UNMISET Report on 4 December 2002 Civil Disturbance in Dili". East Timor Law & Justice Bulletin. 28 December 2008. Retrieved 24 July 2025.
  21. ^ "Ramos Horta Calls for Death Squad Claims Probe". Partido Democratico Timor-Leste. ABC/AFP. 23 May 2006. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  22. ^ de Sousa, Camilio (24 January 2024). "Timor-Leste to recruit 200 new PNTL officers". TATOLI Agência Noticiosa de Timor-Leste. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  23. ^ a b c d e Robert Muggah and Emile LeBrun, ed. (October 2010). Timor-Leste Armed Violence Assessment Final Report (PDF). Special Report No. 12. Small Arms Survey. p. 17. ISBN 978-2-940415-43-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2016.
  24. ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20240914013228/https://www.airspace-review.com/2018/12/22/mengenal-ransus-pwc-25tl-panser-kanon-air-buatan-pindad-untuk-timor-leste/
  25. ^ "E Timor Police 'Torture Suspects'". BBC News. 20 April 2006.
  26. ^ "PNTL Officers Should Carry Appropriate Weaponry - Fundasaun Mahein". 9 August 2017.
  27. ^ Davidson, Helen (20 November 2018). "Timor Leste: drunk police officer's alleged killing of three teenagers sparks protests". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
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