Afghan Local Police The Afghan Local Police ( ALP ) is a US - UK sponsored local law enforcement agency , defence force and militia in Afghanistan as part of the Afghan Ministry of Interior . Formed primarily as a local defence force against Taliban insurgents its members have no power of arrest and are only authorised to investigate crime if requested to do so by the Afghan National Police ( ANP ) . It was established at the request of the International Security Assistance Force ( ISAF ) in Summer 2010 and is paid for by the United States . Officers undergo three weeks military and police training by ISAF personnel and receive weapons and a uniform . They are intended to defend their villages from insurgent attack and allow the ANP to focus on offensive operations . It was originally intended to function for between two and five years . The US government provided funding in February 2013 to expand the ALP to 45 , 000 members and to provide the programme until at least 2018 , anticipating the withdrawal of most foreign troops from the country by the end of 2014 . The ALP has received a mixed press with its members being involved in several green on blue attacks , though it has borne a heavy cost in its fight against the Taliban - suffering casualty rates twice that of the ANP and Afghan Army . Formation . The Afghan government passed legislation to establish the Local Police in July 2010 and formal establishment occurred under a presidential decree of 16 August that year . An initial target of 10 , 000 members was set by the Afghan government and the US Congress agreed to provide funding for up to 30 , 000 policemen . It was originally planned to operate for between two and five years . By August 2011 7 , 000 men had been recruited . Nomination and vetting is made by local village councils , with training provided by ISAF ( primarily US ) forces . ALP members report to the police district chief and come under the remit of the Ministry of Interior . The ALP was established with the backing of US General David Petraeus but with strong opposition from Afghan President Hamid Karzai . The US Combined Forces Special Operations Component Command - Afghanistan ( CFSOCC - A ) manages the American component of the programme . Operation . The ALP was established as an armed defence force at village - level and does not have police powers . It was intended to free Afghan security forces from the defensive role and allow them to focus on offensive operations in advance of the withdrawal of foreign military units from Afghanistan . ALP candidates receive three weeks of training some of which is delivered by US special forces personnel . The training primarily covers military skills such as marksmanship and IED detection but also covers human rights , the correct use of force and the Afghan constitution . ALP officers do not have powers of arrest but can detain individuals for a limited amount of time before turning them over to the national police . The ALP is not intended to investigate crime ( and can do so only if asked by the National Police ) and is uniformed in khaki in contrast to the Afghan National Police ' s ( ANP ) blue uniforms . The Local Police are not permitted to carry arms outside of their home districts ALP officers hold a one year employment contract , there is a provision in place for officers to transfer to the ANP or the Afghan Army upon completion of their one year service . The ALP is intended to provide a local security presence whose members are known to those that they seek to protect . Previously this work fell to the Afghan National Police who were often sent from further afield and sometimes could not even speak the language of the local populace . A target of 30 ALP officers per village and 300 in each district has been set by CFSOCC - A . Potential recruits are biometrically screened in conjunction with the Afghan National Directorate of Security for potential criminal or terrorist connections . Potential ALP officers must be Afghan nationals aged between 19 and 45 , demonstrate patriotism and be fit and healthy . Monthly salaries are between 6 , 000 and 8 , 250 afghanis per month . The US government funds ALP salaries , weapons , ammunition and training through the Afghan Security Forces Fund that provides the finance direct to the Ministry of Interior . The ultimate goal is for ALPs to function independently of the US security forces with all ALP posts seeking to be independent by the end of 2014 . In February 2013 the US government announced plans to expand the ALP programme . The Pentagon will provide an additional $ 1 . 2 billion to extend the programme to at least 2018 and provide for 45 , 000 officers . US military commanders hope that the programme will allow for the withdrawal of the majority of US troops by 2014 with only a small cadre of special forces personnel remaining to provide training to ALP officers and other Afghan security forces . As of February 2013 the ALP had a presence in just 100 of Afghanistan ' s 400 districts , though plans were in place to expand this to a further 44 districts within the next few months . Incidents . The Human Rights Watch has raised concerns that the ALP simply provides arms and training to another militia and has led to abuses of power by its members . At least 77 ALP officers had been investigated for criminal activity by February 2013 , this included serious allegations of murder and rape . Concerns have also been raised over the power it places in the hands of local village elders , the increased proliferation of weapons , the possible infiltration by Taliban , the financial cost and the reliance on western trainers . The use of the ALP has been likened to a local militia , the use of which by the USSR in the 1980s left Afghans wary of similar forces . The Local Police have been involved in several green on blue attacks against ISAF security forces or their Afghan colleagues . On 30 March 2012 a local policeman poisoned and shot nine of his colleagues in an attack he carried out on behalf of the Taliban in Yayakhil , Paktika Province . A local policeman killed two US soldiers in Kinisk , Farah Province on 17 August 2012 after he was handed a weapon to begin training with . The policeman was shot dead by US and Afghan forces and a National Police officer was wounded . Following a spate of such attacks the US military halted training to the ALP in September 2012 to re - vet new candidates , existing members of the force were not affected by the decision . A local policeman who had infiltrated the organisation drugged and , with Taliban forces , shot 11 colleagues and six co - operating civilians at an ALP post in Ghazni Province , the worst such incident the force has suffered . The Afghan Local Police have been targeted by insurgents on numerous occasions . An attack on an ALP post in Khaki Safed , Farah Province in April 2012 left eight policeman dead and two captured and within the same timeframe a suicide bombing in the north of the country killed an ALP commander and his bodyguard and wounded 18 others . Another attack towards the end of the month killed 10 ALP officers when a roadside bomb hit the truck they were travelling in . Four policemen and five civilians were killed in a targeted suicide bombing on 18 June 2012 at Tagab in Kapisa Province , 17 civilians were wounded . Six ALP officers were killed in an explosion on 10 October 2012 in Nad Ali in Helmand Province . In all the casualty rate in the ALP runs at 6 . 2 % , more than double that of the rest of the Afghan security forces .