Measuring capacity development and reform in the Royal Solomon Islands police force

International police have been deployed on a number of peacekeeping missions, but providing capacity development and assisting in reform of local police in wartorn nations are only a relatively recent undertaking. The process of police reform is complicated because of the inherent difficulty in evaluating the impact of a development programme on police service delivery performance. This study reports on the results of a pilot survey of international police managers assessment of the level of competency of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force following the introduction of a capacity development programme 3 years earlier. The results indicate that although the local police had improved operationally, and in some cases to an international standard, the Force had lower capability in strategic administration.