Police Officers @ MindSay

By Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Douglas Mappin

Special to American Forces Press Service

July 1, 2008 - The first class of the Afghan National Police's "Jump Start" program graduated at the Central Training Center here June 26. The 229 men and four women in the class were trained by instructors from DynCorp International, a private military contracting company.

Jump Start is a police training program modeled after the focused district development police-reform program, in which Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan is working to develop a professional, well-trained, fully equipped police force throughout the country. Jump Start focuses solely on the Afghan capital of Kabul and its 16 police districts.

"Jump Start is a process of reforming the way local police officers are trained," said Canadian Superintendant Ray Noble, Jump Start coordinator. "Jump Start picked the best aspects of FDD and utilizes those elements to train police forces in Kabul."

According to U.S. Army Master Sgt. Frank Miranda, Kabul Capital Police Command logistics coordinator for Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan, these new police officers are better-trained than their predecessors.

"From Day One, they are taught police ethics. This type of training is also meant to remove the stigma of the police," Miranda said.

Noble, a native of Fort Francis, Ontario, Canada, and officer in charge of Prince Rupert Detachment, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said applicants for the program must meet strict criteria before being permitted to enroll.

"These students are getting the message," Noble said. "They have been taught how corruption will not benefit them, and that it can even lead to increased violence against them. More importantly, we teach them if they follow their training and the rules, they will have the people's respect."

Jump Start students receive training in the use of firearms, combat tactics, first aid, self-defense, improvised explosive devices, human rights, and the tenets of the Afghan constitution.

"Our students are trained in all aspects of police work. They learn to handle civil disturbances as well as domestic violence," said Col. Hashim, Afghan National Police training deputy. "Our students learn to maintain checkpoints, conduct personal searches and manage crime scenes. They recognize this

is an important job."

Hashim said he is most proud of the four women in the graduating class.

"When Afghans see women in uniform, others will be encouraged to join," he said. "I am sure we will see many more women enrolling in the future."

Hashim, who oversees the training of various ANP programs including Jump Start and the Trauma Assistance Program, said all cities need a secure environment, and Jump Start will provide a valuable service to Kabul's citizens.

"Kabul is our capital city. With the capital buildings, the ministries of Defense and Interior and the embassies all here in Kabul, we need security," Hashim said. "If we have no police, we are not secure."

(Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Douglas Mappin serves in the Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan Public Affairs Office.)

By Army 1st Lt. Joseph Holliday

Special to American Forces Press Service

June 30, 2008 - Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers and Iraqi National Police officers share the stresses and successes of providing security and stability in Iraq as they work side by side every day to protect the people of Baghdad.  Soldiers assigned to Company D, 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, work with national police officers in a number of capacities.

Patriot Brigade soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team frequently stop at police stations to check in on their Iraqi brothers in arms. This may seem like a small gesture, one soldier said, but the visits have positive repercussions.

"It is a morale boost for national policemen to see U.S. soldiers caring enough about them to stop in and talk when it would be easier after a long mission in 130-degree heat to just pass on by and go back to their air-conditioned rooms," Army Capt. Clint Brooks, Company D commander, said. "The NPs' living conditions are not nearly as comfortable as [those] of U.S. soldiers."

The soldiers often bring the police officers cool water or snacks to help them stay motivated on the job, Brooks said. The police officers are happy to return the favor, bringing U.S. soldiers drinks or local Iraqi food, such as bread, fruit or kebabs, he said. For the national police officers, this kind of relationship building puts a human face to American soldiers in uniform.

"It can be easy for an Iraqi, even an Iraqi national policeman, to look at a group of soldiers all wearing the same uniform, performing their jobs with the machine-like precision we pride ourselves on, and not think of them as human like them," Brooks said. "With these visits, U.S. soldiers not only get to know their Iraqi counterparts, but the Iraqi [policemen] get to know their counterparts, building the rapport essential to making their joint missions go smoothly."

The Iraqi National Police officers who share an operating environment with Company D soldiers are responsible for securing a traffic circle at an intersection of two major roads in Baghdad. At times, the soldiers join them at their positions around the traffic circle and in the vehicle-searching areas to help with security and search operations. The Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers say the national policemen do an admirable job at their checkpoint.

"You can't help but see their selfless devotion to make their country a better place for their people," said Army Pfc. Randy Hooper, a Company D soldier who hails from Willows, Calif. "Even though our common enemy threatens their lives every day, they still guard their checkpoint."

When U.S. soldiers join the policemen at the checkpoint, the effects extend beyond the relationship and cooperation between them. It also affects the way the populace looks at their national police.

"It shows the people of Iraq that their national police are working hard and being supported by the most powerful fighting force in the world -- the U.S. Army," Brooks said. "The competence and credibility of the U.S. Army, known worldwide, is transferred to the NPs by working together [and] building the people's confidence and trust in their national police.

"Showing this combined presence at such a highly trafficked area," he continued, "lets our common enemy know that if you try to test either force individually, we will answer together."

On many of their combined missions, the national police lead the way and U.S. soldiers play a supporting role, Brooks explained. National police officers conduct their part of the mission with a speed and precision that sometimes is hard for American soldiers to achieve because of their reliance on interpreters, he said.

"They are getting better every mission that we do together, and they are very helpful," Army Spc. Urban Jones, a dismounted squad leader from Miami, said.

After working with national police officers for several months, the soldiers of Company D have watched them become a more effective fighting force, Jones said.

The soldiers are thankful their hard work is paying dividends, and they look forward to the day national police conduct their missions without any outside support, because building Iraqi security forces and handing over to them the responsibility of securing their country is the best exit strategy, Jones said.

(Army 1st Lt. Joseph Holliday serves in Multinational Division Baghdad with the 10th Mountain Division's 2nd Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment Public Affairs Office.)

By Air Force Staff Sgt. Beth Del Vecchio

Special to American Forces Press Service

June 13, 2008 - Surrounded by Afghan National Police, the U.S. Army staff sergeant moved the water-bottle caps around in the dirt, as if on a checkerboard. But, there was no board, and this was no game. It was training. With different obstacles facing the trainers at Forward Operating Base Scorpion, unconventional methods of training are common. The language barrier may seem to limit the training, but the trainers and mentors are committed to mission execution, no matter what the means.

Army Staff Sgt. James Parks, a police mentor team member from Buffalo, N.Y., uses the bottle caps to demonstrate a wedge formation, a type of patrolling technique. That day, his group was working on the "rush and roll," the "low crawl," and other basic combat reactions under fire. This training usually is for soldiers; however, due to the counterinsurgency environment, the Afghan National Police need these skills to survive and defeat the enemy.

"We train them in basic combat skills so they can stay alive out there," Parks said. "It seems basic to us, but it's stuff that they just don't know to do when there is enemy contact."

The majority of the police training at the Regional Training Center in Kandahar is Afghan-led, but the three American and three coalition mentors work with Afghan police commanders and trainers to coach and advise the new recruits on basic combat skills.

"The language barrier is the biggest obstacle we face," Parks said.

Just like the bottle caps, the U.S. mentor team used colored blocks to demonstrate how to clear a building. They assigned colored blocks to each police officer on the clearing team and set corresponding colored blocks on the inside of the building. That way, the police would know by looking at the colored blocks where they needed to position themselves once inside the building.

Once the police officers finish the eight-week course at the RTC, they are sent out to districts in southern Afghanistan. But their training doesn't stop once they're in the field.

Regional Police Advisory Command South, with headquarters at FOB Scorpion, acts as a command post for several police mentor teams spread out through Afghanistan's southern districts. Nearly 10,000 ANP officers work in the field, and the mentor teams travel from district to district to train, advise and mentor the police.

Army Col. John Cuddy, Regional Police Advisory Command South commander, oversees training for the RTC and the police mentor teams.

"The mentors and the PMTs are the front-runners of our mission here," he said. "It's amazing what these men are doing with what they have."

Cuddy said the mentor teams visit the district police after they have left the regional training center and ensure they sustained those skills learned during training and are conducting their basic function as police officers: to serve and protect. The PMTs also ensure the police are getting paid and fed.

"If the ANP aren't paid, they go AWOL. If they aren't armed, they get killed in the night," he said.

Cuddy said reports of real progress come from the districts.

"We are getting feedback that the Taliban doesn't recognize the ANP they fight now," he said. "The ANP are starting to fight back. Before, they didn't have the training in basic fighting or survival skills, so they would surrender or run."

Afghan Brig. Gen. Nassurullah Zarifi, commander of the Afghan National Police Kandahar Regional Training Center, has more than 35 years of experience, including time with the Afghan National Army. He worked for 16 years as an instructor in the ANA before he was transferred to the RTC.

"We have 350 students here, but not enough instructors. The American and coalition instructors help us to educate our people," he said. "While they are here, my instructors, deputies and myself work hard to ensure the students are trained properly and will do their job correctly when they leave the RTC to go to their communities."

He said he receives positive feedback from the provinces about the police who graduated from the eight-week training program at the RTC.

"They are happy to have the new ANPs in their community," Zarifi said. "This is a long process, not a short-term answer. We are working on the security for the future of Afghanistan."

(Air Force Staff Sgt. Beth Del Vecchio serves with Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan Public Affairs.)

By Air Force Staff Sgt. Beth Del Vecchio

Special to American Forces Press Service

June 12, 2008 - Police mentor team "Patriot" visits its assigned Afghan National Police stations daily. The mentors tend to ask the same questions about pay, personnel, weapons and equipment. They coach the police to solve any problems on the spot, paving the way to an Afghan solution. Patriot is one of many police mentor teams assigned to Regional Police Advisory Command South, part of Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan. The team's mission is to train, advise and mentor the Afghan National Police in 10 districts of Kandahar City.

Team members say they aren't there to give the Afghan police officers anything except advice, support and back-up. If the Afghan National Police request fuel for their generators, the mentor team asks if they have been filling out and submitting fuel-consumption reports. If they ask about uniforms or weapons, the team asks if they have made the request through the Afghan provincial headquarters.

Police mentor teams play a key role in a program called "focused district development," aimed at enhancing Afghan National Police capabilities. The program's goals involve developing the police into a professional, well-disciplined force for the people of Afghanistan and the nation's interests, officials said.

Focused district development starts at one of four regional training centers dedicated to the program. District police receive eight weeks of police training while a special Afghan police unit fills in for them in their district. The training at the regional centers includes basic and advanced police training, survivability training and district-specific training. When they return to their districts to work, the mentor teams work to help the training take root.

Army Sgt. 1st Class Ronald Judson and his team mentor the police in 10 districts in Kandahar City; each police station employs an average of 40 to 45 police officers. Of those districts, four have men currently attending FDD training at the Kandahar regional training center. When the police return, Judson and his team will start the training and mentoring phase.

"We have a six-week plan of sustainment training," Judson said. "We know what they are teaching them at the RTC, and we will reinforce that training on the ground."

Judson and the rest of his team started assessing his district police before they went to the RTC. He said it wasn't easy, because the men had no police training. With the results of the assessment, the police mentor team can gauge the districts' progress, he said.

During a typical visit to a police station or checkpoint, the mentor team ensures the police have enough men for security of the station, weapons, uniforms and equipment. They also check on basic needs, such as living conditions and food.

"We can't just give them what they need," Judson said. "We have to mentor them on requesting things through their channels. We advise them of processes that work for us, and they find solutions that work for them."

Judson said his visits build relationships, making it easier to mentor and advise the Afghan National Police through problems.

The teams also schedule time to work on sustainment training with the police. Each district has a different mission. The police mentor teams for the districts outside of the city work with police who are tasked with a more combat-oriented mission.

Army Capt. Greg Lockhart works with police in a district in which the primary mission is counterinsurgency. The Afghan National Police there have attended focused district development training, but Lockhart said there is still more work to be done.

"We have seen significant improvements in their community policing abilities since they have returned from FDD training," Lockhart said. "They received some combat skills training, but they still need some work in defending themselves against attacks."

In Lockhart's district of responsibility, the police carry more of a combat role. The mentor team augments the police on missions that sometimes include combat.

The mentor teams aren't training the Afghan National Police to seek out the enemy and get into a fight, Lockhart said. "We are trying to teach them basic combat skills to protect them once they are engaged by the enemy."

Lockhart, Judson and the other PMT members in Kandahar report to Regional Police Advisory Command South.

The feedback helps improve the training at the regional training center, Judson said, but each mission is different.

"It's a different mission inside the city," he explained. "Our ANP deal with more community policing, whereas the teams outside of Kandahar City deal more with counterinsurgency. There really isn't one way of doing things -- it's live and learn."

(Air Force Staff Sgt. Beth Del Vecchio serves in the Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan Public Affairs Office.)

May 24, 2008 (San Dimas, CA) Police-Writers.com is a website that lists state and local police officers who have written books. Continuing its leadership in the area of criminal justice books, Police-Writers.com added one federal law enforcement official and two local police officers to the list of law enforcement personnel that have authored books.

Dr. Randy Gonzales has enjoyed a 32 year career in the criminal justice field.  He has been a police officer, deputy sheriff, police instructor and chief of police of the New College of Florida Police Department. Dr. Randy Gonzalez holds a Master’s in Criminology and Public Administration, and a Ph.D. in Biblical Philosophy. A certified law enforcement instructor, Randy Gonzalez is the author of Crime Prevention for Children-a Basic Guide for Parents; An Introduction to Ethics and Professionalism in Law Enforcement; Law Enforcement Vehicle Pullovers and Traffic Stop Operations; Introduction to Law Enforcement Leadership and Supervision; Introduction to Law Enforcement the Practical Side of Criminology; Law Enforcement Tactics in Response to Terrorism; Leadership Principles of the Christian Warrior; Social Survival Tactics: A Guide to Basic Self-defense and Personal Safety Strategy; and, The Law Enforcement Leadership Field Notebook.

James Giammarinaro joined the United States Navy in the mid-1980s and served for over five years, including two deployments to the Persian.  He began his law enforcement career when he joined the St. Augustine Police Department in 1990.  During his career he has received an Officer of the Year Award and was promoted to the investigative unit in 2000.  James Giammarinaro is the founder of the Child Safety Team, Inc. and the author of Parents, Predators, and Prevention.

According to the book description of Parents, Predators, and Prevention, “Written by a Law Enforcement Sergeant, this book is your complete guide to learning about abductors, how they operate, and what you as parents can do to prevent your child from becoming the next victim. You will learn; How to empower your children to become more aware and confident; How to identify and deter the enemy; How to prevent the Internet Intruder from entering your home; and, Basic self-defense techniques for you and the family”

After a career as an undercover federal agent, Sal Vizzini became the chief of police of the South Miami Police Department.  Sal Vizzini is the co-author of Vizzini: The Secret Lives of America's Most Successful Undercover Agent.

Police-Writers.com now hosts 1016 police officers (representing 428 police departments) and their  2166 criminal justice books in 33 categories, there are also listings of United States federal law enforcement employees turned authors, international police officers who have written books and civilian police personnel who have written books.