Courtesy Photo | Iraqi policeman investigate a mock crime scene during a criminal investigations course...... read more read more
Subscribe
DHI QAR PROVINCE, Iraq -- Between the four of them, they have over 80 years of law enforcement experience in places like New York City, St. Louis, Virginia and Georgia. Their expertise ranges from crime scene investigation, evidence collection, interrogation, fire arms training, dog handling, and community policing. They focus their knowledge and experience as advisors and trainers to the Iraqi police as part of the U.S. Army’s advise, train and assist mission in southern Iraq.
Assigned to 3rd Battalion, 29th Field Artillery Regiment, 3rd Advise and Assist Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, Steve Burton, John Cottle, Francisco Sun, and Brian Thomas play a key role assisting the Iraqi police develop their law enforcement training systems, techniques and procedures. The group makes up Dhi Qar province’s Civilian Police Assistance Training Team, and also advises commanders on matters regarding law enforcement training.
Similar teams exist throughout Iraq and focus their efforts on teaching universal policing methods and skills, while sharing lessons learned and enabling the Iraqi police to teach themselves.
Cottle says they see themselves more as facilitators rather than primary instructors, noting that the Iraqi police have come a long way. “We don’t do it [for them], we help them get there by themselves,” he said.
One of the biggest challenges they see within the Iraqi police is their ability and willingness to coordinate with different police agencies and understanding how working together can benefit an investigation or operation. For example, Burton says that one police unit might not know the specific functions or capabilities of another unit that works within the same compound. As a result, the unit may not be leveraging the other unit’s expertise on a specific type of mission or investigation.
Collectively, they all admit to facing the same challenges during their own time on the police force. However, in Iraq, they say a lack of interagency coordination becomes compounded because of a cultural tendency not to want to ask for assistance.
As they develop relationships with their Iraqi police counterparts, the team continues to emphasize the importance of interagency coordination, drawing from its own experience and highlighting successes they’ve seen during their time in Iraq.
During his five years as a police advisor in Iraq, Burton has placed a tremendous emphasis on community policing, the practice of integrating and developing relationships with local citizens, business and organizations. Such relationships, he says, help build and maintain trust between the police and the people they serve, ultimately leading to higher quality service and safer communities.
“A good investigator knows the people in his community, and the community knows him as someone more than just a police uniform,” he said.
The team has also placed a lot of emphasis on the train-the-trainer model, where they provide instruction and resources to a select group of Iraqis, who in turn are charged with training the rest of their unit.
Burton, who resides in Martinsville, Va., smiles when he reflects on seeing one of his former students teach the same class on crime scene investigations that he himself taught to the Iraqis. Memories like this are what have kept him working in Iraq for so long.
“We’re getting to go out on the streets and actually see them implementing their training,” he said. “That’s what’s rewarding about it.”
With 18 months assigned to the advisory team, Cottle has been surprised at the similarities between police officers in Iraq and in the U.S. While noting that some of the procedures are different, he says that despite cultural and language differences, cops are cops. He appreciates that his Iraqi colleagues tell many of the same jokes and play the same types of pranks on each other.
“It’s definitely a worldwide group of people. They are the same everywhere,” he said.
Sun, a New York City cop for 25 years, also sees the similarities among American and Iraqi cops, but with some subtle differences. “Instead of doughnuts, it’s falafel. Instead of coffee, it’s chai,” he said, laughing at his own acknowledgement of the stereotype.
Much of Sun’s satisfaction with his current job stems from sharing his personal experiences with the Iraqi police, who are generally pretty young, just starting out in law enforcement.
He’s found success bridging the language barrier with books of crime scene photos, which help him show new methods and procedures. He said the photos establish a common ground and immediately help his students relate to what he’s teaching them, as they may recall similar scenes or investigations from their own experiences. It’s at this point, he says, his job really becomes rewarding.
They’ve all seen success stories, tangible progress they’re proud to say they’ve contributed to. And while they acknowledge there’s a lot of work to be done, they remain optimistic.
Sun said that the Iraqi police he’s worked with have requested training in homicide, cyber crimes, arson, narcotics and fraud. Once the Iraqis receive their first class in a particular subject, they are quick to request more advanced training to build on what they have already learned.
“They realize that there's more to policing than check-points, marching, weapons training and drinking chai,” he said.
| Date Taken: | 01.06.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 01.08.2011 11:59 |
| Story ID: | 63230 |
| Location: | DHI QAR PROVINCE, IQ |
| Web Views: | 95 |
| Downloads: | 23 |
This work, Retired cops share experience with a new generation of Iraqi police, by MAJ Alan Brown, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT