Community Policing in Iraq
By Tanya Biank
Under Saddam Hussein’s rule, the Iraqi police were a force to be feared, not trusted. The American military police who are training the Iraqis hope to change that perception.
“The Iraqi police now are encouraged to conduct more community policing by talking with the people who live in their districts, asking about recent events or troubles in the neighborhood and handing out flyers,” said Rebekah Strock of the 118th Military Police Company, Fort Bragg, N.C. “Going door to door and just showing their faces is a good show of faith, and in fact courage, in a country where one can be killed for just wearing the Iraqi police uniform.”
Community policing, a model based on the idea that police are there to protect and serve their communities, is a new concept for the Iraqi people as well as for the Iraqi police.
Members of a police force that once tormented citizens now hand out candy, stuffed animals and comic books to kids, as well as community surveys and crime-reporting tips to adults.
“The public’s confidence grows every time they see patrols and when the Iraqi police interact with them,” said Jeremy Zinke of Echo Company, 125th Infantry Regiment, a Michigan National Guard unit.
Added Mark Singer of the 118th Military Police Company, “Our best information comes from direct conversation with the public.”
Training the police in a war zone is a slow and arduous process. “It makes it difficult to get the Iraqi police out on patrols and out in the community when they face an enemy that is supposed to be fought by military forces and not local policemen,” said Tia Terry of the 630th Military Police Company, Bamberg, Germany.
Other problems that the Iraqi police face include corruption, inadequate supplies and lack of equipment. Having Iraqi police plan and execute a mission on their own is a big deal.
“Ingenuity and initiative were not welcomed in the past and aren’t easily developed, although some of their (Iraqi) leaders are making great strides and finding creative solutions to problems despite the barriers they face,” said Casey Mose, commander of the 118th Military Police Company.
But Mose, who has been in Iraq since June 2006, is hopeful.
“They really just need time and training to stand on their own, and without the insurgency, a true police force could have more success in development,” he said.
Despite the difficulties, the MPs are dedicated to their mission. They hope that the Iraqi police will be, too.
“They make many sacrifices to serve their country and better their communities with the hope that eventually, they will become a fully operational and impartial force of law, trusted by communities everywhere,” Strock said. “It’s a long and slow process, but one that will truly make this country a light to the nations in this part of the world when that dream becomes a reality.”