Photo By Rick Rzepka | An Iraqi policeman stands guard near the new al Answar Police Station in al Secour....... read more read more
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By Sgt. Rick Rzepka
1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division
TIKRIT, Iraq - Iraqi security in the Salah ad Din province got a shot in the arm Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2008, as the first in a series of local police stations here opened its doors to join the fight to secure Iraq's streets.
Dozens gathered in the midst of a dust storm, as an Iraqi police station validation ceremony marked the opening of the al Answar Police Station in the town of al Secour, which is part of the Tikrit police District.
The al Answar station is the first in a flurry of police stations set to open in the expansive northern province in the next several months. Thirteen more stations in the province are scheduled to be validated by coalition forces, said Capt. James Bloom, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division provost marshal.
A station that meets the validation criteria means they no longer require coalition support in the areas of training, logistics and basic police skills, said Bloom.
The Answar station rated high marks from its police transition team mentors, who assessed the station's readiness on a scale of one to four.
A station that requires a great deal of logistical and training support from their coalition partners is rated as a four, while stations that demonstrate a high level of competency in logistics and community policing are given a rating of one, said Bloom. "The guidelines are very clear," he said. "They either meet them or they don't."
While the readiness assessment takes into account logistical factors, such as availability of weapons and body armor, it also weighs the policemen's capacity to conduct rudimentary policing skills.
Being able to respond in a timely manner to a call or to conduct a low level investigation is critical not just to the station's rating, but to the people it serves.
"Overall the Iraqi public believes that the Iraqi police are a force that can and will protect them," said Bloom, who attributes the decline in violent attacks in Salah ad Din to a more confident, proactive police force.
The focus on community level policing is a major factor in the turnaround here, said Bloom.
The province has more than 15,000 active policemen walking the beat and approximately 117 police stations that have been mentored by the 1st BCT's Police Transition Teams during the past year.
The transition teams, which are similar to Military Transition Teams, are made up of highly trained Soldiers who pass on experience and expertise in the area of security and policing to their Iraqi counterparts.
They focus and assist on the basics of police administration to increase efficiency and enhance the management of the IP stations," said Maj. Richard Dixon, 1st Brigade Combat Team police transition team chief.
The teams have been mentoring Iraqi policemen in Salah ad Din for the past 12 months and have had a dramatic effect on their confidence, proficiency and competency in community policing, said Dixon.
| Date Taken: | 09.16.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 09.21.2008 11:04 |
| Story ID: | 23955 |
| Location: | TIKRIT, IQ |
| Web Views: | 256 |
| Downloads: | 235 |
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