KFOR MPs sharpen criminal investigation skills

Photo By Sgt. Lynnwood Thomas | U.S. Army Spc. Allen Taylor, investigator from Task Force MP, takes footprint photos to practice forensic photography during a special topics course in forensic science and crime scene processing October 29, 2019, on Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo. The Soldiers learned about basic crime-scene response techniques, death investigation information, and interrogation tactics. The class also covered trace and physical evidence and sexual assault response. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Lynnwood Thomas, 40th Public Affairs Detachment)  

CAMP BONDSTEEL, KOSOVO

10.29.2019

Story by Spc. Lynnwood Thomas 

40th Public Affairs Detachment

CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo – Crime exists in nations worldwide, and police must work to solve these cases and assist in delivering justice. U.S. Army Soldiers from Regional Command – East’s Task Force Military Police along with Swiss and Austrian International Military Police attended a forensic science and crime scene-processing course October 28-29, 2019 at Camp Bondsteel.

Criminal Investigation Command, known as CID, has units stationed in Germany that support the Kosovo region. With the skills and techniques learned in this course, local MPs can take steps to keep a crime scene secure – while preserving physical evidence until CID arrives.

“It’s a different dynamic than you’ll find almost anywhere in the Army because most camps, posts and stations where we have military police assigned, there is also a CID field element that accompanies them,” U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Sean McEntee, CID special agent and forensics science officer from the 5th MP Battalion, Kaiserslautern, Germany, said. “Here in Europe we have an interesting challenge because there are a lot of remote stations where CID field elements are operating.”

McEntee, who co-instructed the course, taught the Soldiers about basic crime-scene response techniques, death investigation information, and interrogation tactics. The class also covered forensic photography, trace and physical evidence, and sexual assault response.

“Taking the time and effort to process a crime scene competently and with as much effort as possible is really important,” he said. “It’s the documentation of the crime scene. When it goes to court you really want to be able to prove what happened and bring justice and closure to the victim.”

The MPs taking the course have all had basic instruction on many of the topics they covered. Refreshing their skills helps those members who don’t handle crime scene investigation on a daily basis contribute to creating a more capable police force.

“They’re our brothers and sisters in law enforcement,” McEntee said. “We’re all a part of the MP family. We’re just trying to make sure that they have the tools to execute their part of the mission and then we’ll come in and do ours.”

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jason Jasinski, an operations sergeant from TF MP who took the course, recommends that other MPs do the same.

“It’s a good course for any MP at any level to get more of an understanding of what CID is looking for, and things that you can do before their arrival to help them when they do arrive on scene,” he said.
Jasinski said he valued the opportunity to sharpen his skills, but benefitted most from being able to draw from the instructors’ field experience.

“My favorite part of the class was the case studies and hearing the actual stories from the instructors of things that they’ve done in the past, mistakes that they’ve made and the things that they’ve learned from those mistakes,” he said. “It helped to put things in perspective and it showed us that we can learn from each other’s mistakes.”

Incorporating international MPs allowed the entire class to compare best practices, in the event of an incident that calls for joint participation.

“We are in Kosovo with so many nations,” Swiss Army Sgt. Maj. Nadine Ettlin, IMP, said. “It’s possible to have a case with American Soldiers involved and if they are taking lead, we have to adapt.”

Ettlin said the best part of the class was getting to know the other Soldiers, the way they work and how each nation can cooperate.

Providing KFOR Soldiers this type of experience and training works in tandem with ensuring readiness and providing a safe and secure environment for the region of Kosovo.

“As a whole the Military Police Corps has evolved and really made an effort to make sure that it is a professional law enforcement agency in the states and abroad,” McEntee said. “These Soldiers are beneficiaries of the excellent training that we’ve been putting out in the past few years. I think everybody got something out of it, and it’s never a bad day when we’re working with our NATO partners.”

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• Date Taken: 10.29.2019
• Date Posted: 11.26.2019 08:22
• Story ID: 353442
• Location: CAMP BONDSTEEL, ZZ
• Hometown: BATON ROUGE, LA, US
• Hometown: FORT STEWART, GA, US