Kurdistan Police Reform Enters Implementation
The Interior Ministry says its five-year strategy, running to 2030, will test new standards at four pilot stations before spreading them to the rest of the Region’s police
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - The Kurdistan Regional Government said it is carrying out a broad, long-term police reform under a five-year strategy covering 2026 to 2030, aimed at raising the police’s professional ability and services and strengthening trust between citizens and the police. The government described it as a long-term institutional overhaul meant to build a new, professional, accountable and competent police force that works on the basis of law and the protection of human rights.
The reform is not only a change of structures and buildings, the statement said. It covers how the police are managed, their professional conduct, the development of human resources, the use of technology and the quality of service to citizens. As the first practical step, four police stations have been designated “model stations”: Kasnazan in Erbil, Saiwan in Sulaimani, Nizarke in Duhok and the Central Police Station in Halabja. Their commanders were chosen on merit and experience, and the stations will apply a new training program, new working procedures and new service standards. After the results are evaluated on the basis of data and evidence, the successful models will be passed to all other police stations in the Region.
The statement says the reform rests on three concepts.
The first is force: using authority, human capacity and readiness within the law to protect citizens’ lives and property and confront crime. The second is respect: fair and professional treatment, protecting citizens’ dignity, rights and privacy. The third is trust, which it says comes from combining legal authority with respectful treatment, so that citizens see the police as a fair, responsible and service-oriented institution. Citizens should see easier access to police services, more professional and fair treatment, faster responses and better protection of confidentiality and rights.
They should also have chances to file complaints, give feedback and evaluate the police, and the police should shift to a culture of service closer to society’s needs.
The strategy has 27 objectives in administrative reform, leadership development, digital transformation and institutional coordination. The Ministry of Interior owns and oversees the whole implementation, the statement said. The EU Advisory Mission in Iraq (EUAM Iraq) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) support it with advice, technical help and capacity building, while decisions, ownership and responsibility remain with the ministry.
The strategy has been taking shape for some time. The Ministry of Interior formally approved the Kurdistan Police Reform Project in October 2025, according to Iraqi media. Senior police leaders met on August 30 with EUAM Iraq to review the strategy, and a delegation led by EUAM head Brig. Gen. Ralf Schroeder visited the pilot stations in Duhok, Erbil and Sulaimani in late August. Interior Minister Reber Ahmed told Kurdistan 24 last month that the program has moved from planning to implementation and that the ministry does not want the strategy to stay only an official document. On October 20 the ministry and UNDP said they were setting up results-based tracking and had two priorities: model police stations and reform of the Police Academy and College. The government says more than 10,000 police officers and other personnel have taken part in training connected to the reform, and EUAM says it has helped train 35 local master trainers since July 2025. The minister has also called for more women in police ranks and leadership.