Police in International Peace Operations

• NCJ Number: 238926
• Journal: .SIAK- International Edition Volume: 2 Dated: 2012 Pages: 19-29
• Author(s): Mario Muigg
• Date Published: 2012
• Length: 11 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: Austria

Annotation

Following an overview of the general conditions and tasks for police involved in international peace operations, this article reports on the objectives of a study sponsored by the Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior for the purpose of assessing the foreign deployments of Austrian police.

Abstract

The overview of the general conditions and tasks of police deployed in foreign peace operations focuses on the distinction between police tasks and those of the military in international peace operations. Attention is given to the possibilities and prospects of cooperation between the police and the military in the period following the cessation of major military combat operations, as the focus of peace operations becomes the building of a new civil order. The Austrian study assessed the international peace activities of Austrian police deployed in international peace operations. The study had four emphases. First, it identified police tasks within international peace operations, with attention to police-military overlaps and a detailed description of the development of police components in international peace operations from the 19th century to the present. Second, it considered the civil crisis management of the European Union (EU) against the background of current developments in European security policy and consideration of the European contribution to the crisis management operations of the EU. Third, it addressed the legal framework for the current system of dispatching Austrian police officers as part of foreign deployments. Topics covered included jurisdiction, immunity, exercise of force, and use of weapons. Fourth, gender-specific analyses focused on gender-related expectations of the deployed police officers, and the general conditions of an international working environment. The study findings are presented in a publication released to the general public in March 2011. 39 notes