 Police in Southern Iraq are at least two years away from being a competent security force, according to the British soldiers training them. Endemic corruption, illiteracy and a lack of initiative still hamper operations, while cash for new equipment remains scarce. At the same time, police remain a prime target for insurgent attacks. There is also no coherent justice system, meaning some suspects can remain in prison for minor offences for months on end, without trial and with their fate in the hands of individual station chiefs. Second Lieutenant William Atkins, of the Royal Artillery, said that the Iraqi police he is helping to run in az-Zubayr were still not up to the job. "There are some excellent police officers here, but the truth is we don't have enough of them," he said. "In total there are 900 in the city, but in terms of how many are actually capable and competent for basic work, I'd have to say very few. We are getting there, but very slowly. "The main problem is we train them and they know what they have to do, they just tend not to do it."
| Sounds like an age-old problem there. |
Lt Atkins cited the case of a suspected insurgent bomb found in the city. The Iraqi force responded, together with the British Army. But instead of sealing off the area around the device and waiting for explosives experts to arrive, Iraqi officers stood right next to it - potentially fatal if it had exploded. "It's simple things like that, which undermine all the training," he said.
"Hey Mahmoud, whatta we do with a bomb incident?"
"Who knows, Achmed, just stand there and keep an eye on it 'til it blows up."
"Hokay." |
"We can run through basic drills, but a lot of it goes out of the window when we get a real incident." In one of the main city police stations inspected by the Royal Artillery, Lt Atkins underlined another problem afflicting the justice system. "They have one small cell and they cram as many as 27 prisoners in it. "When we first came up here, there were two men who had been living in that cell for 10 months," he said. "No-one knew what they were in for, or what was supposed to be happening to them. They had just been forgotten."
| No one really cared, either. |
Although the men were released, police continue to put suspects in the cells without keeping records, often because they cannot read or write and without passing them up to the local courts. "Prisoners come and go. Some are picked up and stay in there a few days and get released because the police decide that's punishment enough," said Lt Atkins. "Others are suspects who get held in there while the alleged crime is investigated." That can take weeks, with the cleared suspect being released without charge or compensation. There is also evidence of widespread, low level corruption among the force. Most recently, officers were issued with new Glock pistols and specialised ammunition for the weapons. Almost immediately, the bullets were turning up on local markets, priced at $2 (756 fils) each, with Iraqi police then demanding they be issued more.
| Make 'em like Barney Fife -- only one at a time, and they gotta use it before they get another. |
Lt Atkins estimates it will take another two years before the az-Zubayr force will be able to properly police the area. "They have made real progress, but the training will continue and it will take some time before the changes that have been made are firmly rooted and made concrete," he said. |