International Military Police in Kabul

Besides maintaining an orderly atmosphere in the camp, the IMP’s core responsibilities are to perform night patrolling, to conduct on-scene investigation of traffic accidents, to screen luggage and passengers at the airport and to check the local people before their admission to the hospital.

The IMP office is operating like a police station with a staff of three Hungarian, six French and one Macedonian soldier. This is the place where they take down evidences for the records and man the duty service too. The things put into the “amnesty boxes" are kept here until they are destroyed. The last chance for people who want to go unpunished is to put their illegal stuff into these boxes before they enter the base or board an aircraft. Most often the locals throw knives and ammunition into the boxes fitted on the gates, but apart from these, they have already put in them almost all kinds of imaginable and unimaginable equipment and materials. The MPs are authorized to take action against local workers and all civilians and soldiers in the area of the camp. They closely cooperate with the soldiers of the HDF KAIA FPC as well in cordoning off areas and providing event security.

Careless drivers may easily exceed the 10 km/h speed limit set for the area of the camp, so the MPs use their mobile speed trap to measure compliance with the rules every day on multiple spots and occasions. Speeders may be sanctioned with taking away their driving license, which can make it very difficult for them to work in the area of the camp.

During our conversation, the Hungarian MPs told us that they had easily integrated into the unit after their arrival, and had developed good cooperation with the soldiers of the other two nations. They work 10-12 hours per day on average in shifts to perform their various duties. Every week they issue 40 warnings and make at least 15 reports on average, so the personnel in the camp take them quite seriously. The two Hungarian servicewomen have performed similar duties earlier, while serving with the MFO mission on the Sinai. The French chief of the IMP has already commended the Hungarian IMP staff for their work on several occasions.