Corrections Officer Course

Photo By Lt.Cmdr. Amy Forsythe | Staff Sgt. Bruce Hall, 38, native of Oakland, Maine, coaches Iraqi policemen how to subdue someone using key pressure points. Hall, a corrections specialist, developed the first Basic Iraqi Corrections Course at Camp Ramadi, Iraq. The first 17 trained corrections officers in Al Anbar province graduated June 5, 2008. The graduates will be assigned to detention facilities and jails.  

RAMADI, IRAQ

06.16.2008

Story by Staff Sgt. Amy Forsythe 

I Marine Expeditionary Force

By Staff Sgt. Amy Forsythe
I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward)

CAMP RAMADI, Iraq -- A hand-selected group of Iraqi policemen graduated from the inaugural Basic Iraqi Corrections Course at Camp Ramadi June 5.

U.S. Marines from Task Force Military Police created and taught the five-day course to meet the need for a professionally trained cadre of personnel to run Anbar's detention facilities and jails.

The course curriculum was developed to emphasize the importance of instituting professional corrections officers within the province's police force. The course primarily focused on awareness of human rights and provided best-practices for detention facility operations. coalition forces, along with the Iraqi police leadership, are seeking to grow the capacity of the force so they can assume a larger role in managing and operating their own jails and reintegration centers.

"We were able to utilize some of the Marines here in conjunction with our international police advisors to come up with a syllabus and begin training," explained Lt. Col. Michael Callanan, military planner for Rule of Law issues assigned to Civil Military Operations at Camp Ramadi.

In the span of less than two years, the once restive city of Ramadi now has a robust police force patrolling the streets and responding to calls, but very few have any training in handling detainees or prisoners.

Staff Sgt. Bruce Hall, 38, a corrections specialist from Oakland, Maine, developed the course emphasizing the need for teaching basic human rights. "I taught them that even though they are detainees of the (province), it still trickles down from the Geneva Conventions," Hall explained. He stressed to the students how important it was to treat everyone, no matter what nationality or religion, with the same basic rights.

The course also provided IPs hands-on training in how to subdue unruly detainees using non-violent pressure point methods and how to quell civil disturbances within a small group.

Callanan emphasized that "cops, courts and corrections" are now top priorities facing Al Anbar province in post-conflict reconstruction. Introducing trained, professional corrections officers to the police ranks to manage and operate Anbar's jails and prisons will help ensure basic human rights are preserved for all citizens.

Col. Salah, the province's chief of training for police, is ensuring there will be students to fill the seats in coming months. More classes are scheduled throughout the summer in order to adequately prepare for the new jails and reintegration center coming online later this year. Most of the IPs who receive this advanced training will transition from patrolling city streets to the professional and humane management of Anbar's jails and detention facilities.

• Date Taken: 06.16.2008
• Date Posted: 06.16.2008 14:17
• Story ID: 20529
• Location: RAMADI, IQ