Photo By Amburr Reese | A member of the Iraqi Federal Police holds a suspect during a culminating exercise at...... read more read more
In an effort to enhance the Iraqi Federal Police's investigative abilities the 364th Civil Affairs Brigade led a three week training course on crime scene investigation this month at the Iraqi Federal Police compound in Baghdad.
After being asked to hold the class by the federal police transition team and Iraq Federal Police's senior ranking officials, the brigade began planning.
"We gathered a uniquely qualified team with which to train the federal police in a crime scene management course," said Col. Jon E. Lopey, Mt. Shasta, Calif., 364th Civil Affairs Brigade deputy commander.
The civil law enforcement experts from the brigade, members of Task Force Troy, and participants from the U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Bureau began the investigative training in late December after much coordination.
"It started with basically an Army major and a Federal Police lieutenant," said 1st Sgt. William H. Smith, Vancouver, Wash., Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 364th Civil Affairs Brigade. "It worked from there, going all the way up to the generals."
Partnership played a large part in planning for the courses.
"Every step of the way we have been working with the Iraqis to determine exactly what they want in the classes," Smith said.
The main concentration of the three week training program was protecting a crime scene, identifying evidence at a crime scene, collecting evidence and marking it properly and finger print training.
"Almost every course that we conducted involved hands-on skills type of validation," Lopey said. "Most of it was not class room; most of it was hands on practice, which reinforces the teaching points."
Lopey said this training was unique because it was not just a training effort, it was also a train the trainer effort.
"Out of the 32 students, 12 were selected as trainers," he said. "So we are training trainers and mentors to go out there and have a positive impact on the [Iraqi] Federal Police."
Some of the classes covered during the three week training course were instructor training, roles and responsibilities in crime scene investigation, robbery and arson investigations, CSI scene protection and searching techniques. The students also went over vehicle searching, criminal law, evidence handling, scene documentation, post blast investigation, fingerprinting and death investigation.
The students took a day trip to Victory Base Complex where they toured a U.S. forensics lab.
"We wanted them [the students] to make a connection between actually gathering the evidence and why it is important from a forensics analysis stand point to analyze that evidence," said Lopey.
Lopey said the course will make the collection of crime scene evidence more efficient among the Iraqi Federal Police.
"I think this course is huge," Smith said. "If they [Iraqi Federal Police] don't understand how to process that crime scene, they are just going to destroy a lot of their evidence."
Smith went on to add there is a process to everything and knowing that process is one of the first steps, especially for law enforcement.
After three weeks of crime scene investigative training, about 120 hours, the students were put to test during a culminating exercise.
The students provided security, sought suspects and witnesses, preserved the crime scene and identified virtually all of the evidence that had been scattered. The students took fingerprints, gathered the evidence and packaged it.
"They had a plan, they used their plan and then when we threw a twist in the scenario they reacted, adapted. They came up with a new plan," Smith said.
They students also recovered trace evidence.
"We had put blood droplets on the floor and they collected cigarette butts," Lopey said. "They basically took every evidentiary piece that we placed out before them to challenge them."
At the end of the class the students compiled a comprehensive report listing all of the information collected during the training exercise.
Lopey said that what he had found during the evaluation was very impressive.
"Not only were they enthusiastic, they aggressively pursued all of the tasks we had asked them to do in the last three weeks and they put it together into one exercises," Lopey said. "We were very pleased with the progress made by our students and we are proud of them all."
Lopey expressed his appreciation of the effort not only from a civil affairs stand point, but also the opportunity to work with the Iraqi Federal Police.
"It was a great team effort and quite frankly I believe it is the way things should be done and I am very happy with the results," he said.
| Date Taken: | 01.16.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 01.16.2010 06:21 |
| Story ID: | 43957 |
| Location: | IQ |
| Web Views: | 605 |
| Downloads: | 562 |
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