inspector. Normal advancement follows a progressive course up through sergeant, lieutenant, captain and inspector, but there are also several specialist grades, some of which have their own distinct rates. of pay. Each regional post commander generally has a lieutenant and three or four sergeants in addition to his assigned patrolmen. The Montserrado County Police, which is not typical, is the only unit that has all ranks represented (see table 19).

Table 19. Grades, Personnel Strength, and Pay of the
Liberian National Police in Montserrado County, September 1962

Source: Adapted from Liberia, Department of Justice, Annual Report, National

Police, 1962.

Police pay, though not high, is consistent with standard compensation in other equivalent or even more demanding fields, and is considerably higher than that of the National Guard. A patrolman's $50 a month compares favorably with rates paid an ordinary clerk, and is only some 10 percent less than the minimum for a teacher or nurse. Nevertheless, police officials in their periodic reports to their superiors continue to stress the need for increased pay and other benefits if the quality of their personnel is to be maintained. Pay rates have, in fact, been improving; the base pay in 1964 contrasts sharply with the $22 paid a patrolman as late as 1955.

Installations compare favorably with the housing provided other government agencies, but none of the stations were built specifically for police purposes and in most cases are ill adapted to police use. Many were built as residences and, despite extensive alteration, are for the most part awkwardly arranged and inconvenient. Most, including the Monrovia Headquarters, are antiquated and overcrowded, and none have adequate security facilities for holding prisoners awaiting permanent commitment. Although there are plans

for extensive new construction, the recent austerity program has prevented the police from going ahead with the program.

There are two motor pool garages, both in the Monrovia area. One is at Central Headquarters and the other at the Police Academy. Vehicles are old and in need of replacement, and maintenance and repair facilities are marginal. With respect to quantity, the rolling stock barely meets transportation needs, and most regional posts are limited to one or two sedans or a car and a motorcycle. The Montserrado County Police is the most generously supplied, but its vehicles are often out of commission awaiting maintenance or spare parts. The Sinoe and Grand Cape Mount County Police, in addition to their assigned vehicles, each has an outboard motor launch for use on rivers and lagoons.

Police communications have taken a significant stride forward in the past 2 years, and during 1963 six outlying radio stations were established at Bomi Hills, Buchanan, Harper, Gbarnga, Saniquellie and Harbel (Robertsfield). These are equipped with single side-band commercial transmitter-receivers furnished by the United States and tie into the net control station at the Monrovia communications center. The Police Academy also has a new modern installation and houses the international police (INTERPOL) communications center. All West African INTERPOL traffic passes through this station, which has a direct link with Paris. In mid-1964 there was no mobile or portable communications equipment, and local messages within the capital were sent over the telephone or by messenger. The National Bureau of Investigation shared communications facilities with the police.

National Bureau of Investigation

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is the only other organization that has functions falling distinctly within the police field. Its principal assigned mission is to safeguard the country's security and furnish personal protection to the president and other government dignitaries. Other activities which have been assigned by law to the exclusive jurisdiction of the NBI extend to the criminal field in certain specifically designated areas and include cases involving narcotics, counterfeiting, immigration violations, theft from the government and malfeasance by public officials.

The NBI was organized in 1958 as the Bureau of Special Services and was developed under the guidance of security consultants from the United States. In 1961 it was combined with the Executive Mansion Special Security Police, until then a component of the National Police Force, and its name was changed to the National Bureau of Investigation. In 1962 it was removed from the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice and placed directly under the chief

executive. By 1964 the Bureau had reached a strength of 171 men and, in addition to its investigative duties, was providing security services to the president, vice-president, speaker of the House of Representatives and the chief justice of the Supreme Court, and was furnishing civilian guard detachments for the Senate, House of Representatives and Supreme Court.

In mid-1964 the Bureau consisted of a headquarters in Monrovia and three field offices, located in Buchanan, Harper and Gbarnga. The subordinate offices had been established the previous year and were just getting into full operation. Most of the Bureau's activities were concentrated in the capital, with agents making field trips to the interior as required. The headquarters was organized into service and operational subdivisions and had a small inspection staff and a training section.

There are two service elements, designated Administrative Services and Technical Services. The administrative group handles personnel records and finances, while the technical unit has charge of supply, motor vehicles and building maintenance. There is also an air wing section in Technical Services which operates the Bureau's aircraft. At one time the police operated two airplanes, but in mid-1964 only one single-engine observation plane remained. The NBI, which had assumed the air mission from the National Police Force, had two assigned pilots.

In the operational area, two main subsections are concerned with investigations and security, respectively. The investigative element, with an authorized strength of 10 men, conducts general and special investigations of individuals and organizations and maintains current information on potential sources of disaffection or unrest. The Security Division is the largest element of the NBI and incorporates the Executive Mansion Special Security Police (EMSSP), which furnishes the guard personnel for individuals and buildings. In 1964 the EMSSP had a strength of 50 men. Its members sometimes travel as bodyguards with their charges, but normally they patrol or mount guard at official residences and government buildings. The usual disposition of detachments provides for 22 men at the executive mansion and smaller units at its other posts.

Members of the EMSSP hold military rank and constitute the only uniformed element of the NBI. Their distinctive army-type blue uniform is worn only in special ceremonial occasions, however, and they normally operate in civilian clothes. While on duty they are armed with pistols.

Within the Bureau, with the exception of the EMSSP, there is a special grade structure. A recruit starts out as an agent and from there advances to special agent. The next step is to a supervisory position, designated special agent in charge, and above that, senior

special agent in charge. The two top positions are assistant director and director, the latter post being filled by presidential appointment.

Pay rates for the EMSSP are the same as for the police, but officers assigned to the executive mansion receive an additional 20 percent bonus. The pay for other NBI agents runs somewhat higher, starting at $1,020 a year. Provision is made for a one-grade promotion upon acquisition of a college degree or completion of 10 years' service in any government agency.

Training

Formerly most police training was conducted on the job in local units. Selected officers and noncommissioned officers were sometimes sent to police schools in the United States or in England, but the training of recruits and patrolmen was normally handled in the unit of assignment. Some advanced and specialized instruction was also provided periodically by individual advisers or small training units sent to the country by both the United States and Great Britain. Since 1961, however, the United States has been providing whatever training assistance the Police Force has received and has maintained a permanent advisory group in Monrovia that provides instruction to both the police and to the other security agencies.

After some years of planning, the Police Academy was established in 1961 under sponsorship of the United States foreign aid program and with the support of an advisory staff of police specialists from the United States. All men entering the service receive formal basic training at the Academy, and the regional posts are assigned recruits who have been given standardized instruction in the fundamentals of their duties. The school conducts two 6-month courses annually for prospective patrolmen and is expanding its curriculum of advanced instruction for noncommissioned officers.

The Academy met with many difficulties during its first year of operation, but it graduated its first class of 47 patrolmen and 5 military police from the National Guard in August of 1962. The next class had 56 recruits in training, and subsequent classes, which included candidates from the NBI, were still larger. The commandant of the Academy is a police deputy inspector.

The school's physical plant is one of the finest government facilities in the country. Its site at Paynesville is a 100-acre tract within easy driving distance of the capital. The main building is reported to have cost $250,000, and the complex includes an administration building with classrooms, a dormitory and a messhall-auditorium. The Academy is designed to accommodate 140 trainees; with minor adjustments, this number can be increased in case of need. The Academy has its own garage, water supply system and standby powerplant. Although there is a special course for female members of