CAIRO: It is no coincidence that the January 25 Revolution in Egypt began on the state's National Police Day—a day intended to honor the nation's police forces. The day was a watershed for Egyptians, who took to the streets bearing decades worth of anger over endemic police corruption and torture, among other grievances. Police in Egypt functioned for decades to protect the interests of the Mubarak regime and those working in its shadow. Police in Egypt are notorious for their use of brute force, torture, and systemic corruption. They have long been an adversary of change and reform in Egypt. With the Mubarak regime disposed of, a need for a complete overhaul of Egypt's security apparatus is imperative for those who envision a new era in Egyptian history. One new Cairo think tank going by the name Tayyar el-Tagdeed el-Komy, or “The New Nationalist Current” have a three-tiered, intensive vision for police reform. The plan includes a complete overhaul of the police academy, Egypt's security budget, and its security institutions. “This is not the only solution, but it is one,” said Abdullah Kamal, a representative from the group who spoke with Bikyamasr.com this week. “The need for reform is obvious. If we are serious about reform in Egypt then this is the first step. The oldest among us is 26. If we know it, then others around us must know it too.” The group's vision for police reform comes amid their larger vision of national independence and regional cooperation. They want to build regional ties and domestic political sovereignty for Egypt through the merits of transparency and democratic rule. The narrative of police brutality in Egypt is sinister, and evidence of the intricate apparatus in which it has functioned is chilling. A January 2011, Wikileak from the US State Department called the use of torture “routine and pervasive,” in Egypt. According to the leaked document, torture in Egypt was so rife that the government stopped denying its existence. Public outrage against police forces crested in the summer of 2010 when two plain clothed police officers in Alexandria beat and killed a man named Khalid Said. A resultant social media group, “We Are All Khalid Said,” was instrumental in organizing the January 25 Revolution in both scope and agenda. A complete overhaul of police laws, regulations, training and tactics in Egypt is paramount to achieving the revolutionary goals set out by protesters earlier this year. The New Nationalist Current's vision begins with tackling Egypt's notorious Police Academy. Egypt's Police Academy is a prestigious institution. However, most enter through a system of bribes ranging from 100,000 LE to 150,000 LE, making it inaccessible to many Egyptians. The official entrance exam even asks applicants about their family's history and the occupations of their relatives. Kamal called for a new system in which police are trained both physically and technically to learn how to enforce the law in a transparent and fair institution. “They need to learn how to act under normal security terms, not just under emergency law conditions. If you take away this authority, they can't act. You need to teach them how to investigate crimes and arrest through the law, rather than through brute force.” Secondly, Kamal and his colleagues envision a budgetary overhaul for the state's security apparatus, focusing on a transparent reallocation of funds. “We do not know how much the police or central security cost us as a nation. 28 percent of our state budget is transparent — the other 72 percent we do not know, but we have clues.” “The Minister of Interior said that he needs 12 billion LE to run the Central Security– that's approximately 2.5% of Egypt's total budget—but we do not know if that means 12 billion for one month or for one year,” he added. The group's vision calls upon state security to cut down on the quantity of officers and focus on quality instead. They also call for increased investment in training, technical labs, forensic units and investigations. “Electricity went down for three days after the Aswan Dam flooded. We did not record a single crime. Why then do we need so many people to maintain order?” Kamal asked, adding, “even in the days of the revolution people formed their own vigilante neighborhood committees and maintained security.” Dually, it called for increased salaries for officers in an effort to combat the allure of corruption and bribery. Finally, the group calls for a total overhaul of Egypt's security institutions, including the Ministry of Interior and Central Security. They call to decentralize and localize security forces, allowing police forces to fall under the authority of democratically elected individual governorates rather than the central state. It dually envisions a smaller, central authority made up of highly trained and efficient forces that could respond to national security issues as well as the immediate dismissal and trial of all former security officials and police who were known for corruption. “The trials can't just start in the 25th of January. There is a history of corruption behind them. You could not survive in the shadow of the old regime without corruption,” Kamal explained. Some critics suspect that police in post-Jan 25 Egypt still have a hold on the reigns of power within the state. It has been reported that police in recent months have been negligent of their duties, hoping to create a convenient raison d'être for their function by allowing a terrifying security vacuum to manifest in the state. Evidence of a surge in crimes in Egypt has been reported, and is based on Egyptian Ministry of Interior figures. According to the figures, armed robberies in Egypt rose from 36 in January to 420 in July; murders rose from 44 to 166, and kidnappings rose from three to 42. There have been nominal changes to the police force already, but some argue that the changes are superficial. 140 police officers are on trial for killing protesters during the uprisings last January. In July, Interior Minister el-Issawi fired 700 senior officers from various police branches. Activists have organized a group online called Piggipedia, which serves as a forum for pictures of police brutality and corruption. However, a push for reform and monitoring must give way to deeper reforms. Police in Egypt are still operating under the state of emergency law. This means that they can arrest, detain and even torture suspects without due cause or a trial. Continued civilian and press oversight will help to fight against police corruption in Egypt, as a call for democracy and transparency abounds. However, only a significant systematic overhaul will guarantee this. BM
