Changes Sweep Across Local Iraqi Police Stations
February 22, 2005 By Denise Calabria Gulf Region Southern DistrictU.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Baghdad , Iraq – The winds of change are sweeping across Iraq and affecting everything in their path. Local Iraqi police forces and police stations are no exception; they are undergoing both procedural and physical adjustments through the combined guidance of coalition members from Italy and the United States .
The Italian Army and Italian Carabinieri (Federal Police) are responsible for performing patrols, providing security, training local Iraqi police officers, and equipping them with weapons and law enforcement systems in the local southern province of Dhi Qar .
The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers has responsibility for overseeing part of the physical reconstruction of Iraq , and the Corps’ Gulf Region South is responsible for part of the reconstruction efforts in the Basrah, Tallil, and Hillah areas of operation.
Part of GRS’s mission is to provide quality facilities for basic security services, to include local police stations. In order to complete required renovations in the region, USACE assesses the sites under security provided by the Carabinieri, develops courses of action, and initiates construction contracts. The contractors always use local Iraqi laborers to perform the required construction work.
To date, GRS has been tasked with approximately 275 stations for renovations – 181 of which have been assessed. The Multinational Security Transition Command-Iraq identified the requirements from input from maneuver commands, e.g., Multinational Division-Southeast. In the region, 135 contracts have been awarded and over 100 sites have begun construction.
Members of a local police force are anxious to share their opinions and have an encouraging reaction to the changes taking place around them. For example, 1st Lt. Haider, of the Nasiriyah Police Department Serious Crimes Unit, has served on the police force for 12 years.
“The situation has changed now to be better than in the past,” said Haider. “Our salaries have increased. The Iraqi people are more cooperative now. Even though there is still some danger, we are more ready to work in a good way.”
One of the changes Haider’s unit experienced is the result of training provided by the Italian Carabinieri.
“The Italians are very cooperative. They provided us with police training and a new way to register criminals with a new computer system and equipment,” said Haider.
“There is now a cooperation and respect from the two sides. People now think the police work for their sake due to a thorough change in the way the police perform. They are working closer with the people,” said Haider.
Haider said he hopes to see many improvements to his workplace. “We would like to see the station totally refurbished with towers, an internal garage, and outside guard rooms,” he said.
Mark Bennett, a Corps Construction Manager, said Haider and his police unit will eventually see those improvements and more. Bennett said, in order to ensure the protection and safety of each police force staff, police station requirements include security walls, guard towers, generator installation, exterior lighting, bullet-proof glass, bars on exterior windows, steel exterior doors, and an antenna. In order to make the stations habitable for employees, toilets, plumbing and electricity will also be included in all Corps total renovations of facilities.
In some cases, said Bennett, renovations instead of rebuilding will ensure that existing police stations – some 50, 60, or 70 years old and lacking healthy maintenance over the years – are brought to an acceptable standard. That standard includes the required security features.
Whether the issue is renovating existing stations, or identifying those locations that warrant newly built stations, substantial efforts are in place to help Iraq prepare more capable and formidable security forces. It is through these carefully coordinated efforts that the Iraqi people will be able to assume responsibility for their own security.
Baghdad , Iraq – The winds of change are sweeping across Iraq and affecting everything in their path. Local Iraqi police forces and police stations are no exception; they are undergoing both procedural and physical adjustments through the combined guidance of coalition members from Italy and the United States .
The Italian Army and Italian Carabinieri (Federal Police) are responsible for performing patrols, providing security, training local Iraqi police officers, and equipping them with weapons and law enforcement systems in the local southern province of Dhi Qar .
The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers has responsibility for overseeing part of the physical reconstruction of Iraq , and the Corps’ Gulf Region South is responsible for part of the reconstruction efforts in the Basrah, Tallil, and Hillah areas of operation.
Part of GRS’s mission is to provide quality facilities for basic security services, to include local police stations. In order to complete required renovations in the region, USACE assesses the sites under security provided by the Carabinieri, develops courses of action, and initiates construction contracts. The contractors always use local Iraqi laborers to perform the required construction work.
To date, GRS has been tasked with approximately 275 stations for renovations – 181 of which have been assessed. The Multinational Security Transition Command-Iraq identified the requirements from input from maneuver commands, e.g., Multinational Division-Southeast. In the region, 135 contracts have been awarded and over 100 sites have begun construction.
Members of a local police force are anxious to share their opinions and have an encouraging reaction to the changes taking place around them. For example, 1st Lt. Haider, of the Nasiriyah Police Department Serious Crimes Unit, has served on the police force for 12 years.
“The situation has changed now to be better than in the past,” said Haider. “Our salaries have increased. The Iraqi people are more cooperative now. Even though there is still some danger, we are more ready to work in a good way.”
One of the changes Haider’s unit experienced is the result of training provided by the Italian Carabinieri.
“The Italians are very cooperative. They provided us with police training and a new way to register criminals with a new computer system and equipment,” said Haider.
“There is now a cooperation and respect from the two sides. People now think the police work for their sake due to a thorough change in the way the police perform. They are working closer with the people,” said Haider.
Haider said he hopes to see many improvements to his workplace. “We would like to see the station totally refurbished with towers, an internal garage, and outside guard rooms,” he said.
Mark Bennett, a Corps Construction Manager, said Haider and his police unit will eventually see those improvements and more. Bennett said, in order to ensure the protection and safety of each police force staff, police station requirements include security walls, guard towers, generator installation, exterior lighting, bullet-proof glass, bars on exterior windows, steel exterior doors, and an antenna. In order to make the stations habitable for employees, toilets, plumbing and electricity will also be included in all Corps total renovations of facilities.
In some cases, said Bennett, renovations instead of rebuilding will ensure that existing police stations – some 50, 60, or 70 years old and lacking healthy maintenance over the years – are brought to an acceptable standard. That standard includes the required security features.
Whether the issue is renovating existing stations, or identifying those locations that warrant newly built stations, substantial efforts are in place to help Iraq prepare more capable and formidable security forces. It is through these carefully coordinated efforts that the Iraqi people will be able to assume responsibility for their own security.
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