Afghan Local Police

Abbreviation ALP

Agency overview

Formed 2010

Employees 19,600 (February 2013)[1]

Jurisdictional structure

Operations jurisdiction Afghanistan

General nature

Local civilian agency

The Afghan Local Police (ALP) is a US-UK sponsored local law enforcement agency, defence force and
militia in Afghanistan as part of the Afghan Ministry of Interior Affairs.[2] Formed primarily as a local
defence force against Taliban insurgents its members have no power of arrest and are only authorised
to investigate crime if requested to do so by the Afghan National Police (ANP). It was established at the
request of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Summer 2010 and is paid for by the
United States. Officers undergo three weeks military and police training by ISAF personnel and receive
weapons and a uniform. They are intended to defend their villages from insurgent attack and allow the
ANP to focus on offensive operations. It was originally intended to function for between two and five
years.

The US government provided funding in February 2013 to expand the ALP to 45,000 members and to
provide the programme until at least 2018, anticipating the withdrawal of most foreign troops from the
country by the end of 2014. The ALP has received a mixed press with its members being involved in
several green on blue attacks, though it has borne a heavy cost in its fight against the Taliban - suffering
casualty rates twice that of the ANP and Afghan Army.