The US Department of Justice, through the Criminal Division’s International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP), works with foreign governments to develop professional and transparent law enforcement institutions that protect human rights, combat corruption, and reduce the threat of transnational crime and terrorism. Situated in the Department of Justice, with programs funded primarily by the State Department, ICITAP supports both national security and foreign policy objectives.
Since 2003, ICITAP has labored in close partnership with the Government of Iraq, the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team (CPATT) under the Multi National Forces-Iraq (MNF-I), and the Department of State’s Bureau for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs to support efforts to help the people of Iraq achieve a free and democratic state. ICITAP components have and continue to support the Iraqi justice system in the following ways:
Police Training and Assistance
ICITAP efforts in Iraq, in coordination with its Coalition partners, constitute the largest international police training program ever undertaken. As a component of the Civilian Police Assistance Training Team (CPATT), ICITAP personnel have accomplished the following:
* More than 265,585 Iraqi police have been trained in courses developed and/or delivered by ICITAP/CPATT and ICITAP-trained Iraqi instructors, with more than 35,000 Iraqi police having participated in specialized and advanced training.
* ICITAP/CPATT provided training to the Iraq Police Service for planning and adequate security during the January and December 2005 elections and the October 2005 referendum, resulting in international recognition for Iraqi police conduct and effectiveness in successfully securing polling stations.
* ICITAP/CPATT founded and currently advises the Baghdad Police College, the Irbil Police College, and 11 regional basic training facilities throughout Iraq.
Anti-Corruption Training and Assistance
The Iraq Commission on Integrity (COI), formerly the Commission on Public Integrity, was established as an independent, autonomous governmental body whose mission is to prevent and investigate corruption and promote transparency and the rule of law throughout Iraq.
* ICITAP personnel trained and rendered operational 146 Anti-Corruption Unit (ACU) and 161 Special Investigative Unit (SIU) investigators who have been given responsibility for over 6,190 public corruption cases to date. These COI officers are assigned to investigate alleged acts of corruption and provide protection for public officials who are threatened due to their cooperation with ongoing corruption investigations.
* ICITAP personnel have trained more than 203 Facilities Protection Service (FPS) guards and 99 Personal Security Detail Officers.
* ICITAP personnel assisted with the referral of more than 2,371 cases to the Central Criminal Court of Iraq for prosecutorial opinion.
Correctional Training and Assistance
The Iraq Corrections Service (ICS) Development Program has led the U.S. government efforts to reconstitute, develop, and train personnel who are critical to a modern Iraqi corrections system. To date, more than 10,000 corrections officers have graduated from ICITAP-established training programs, which have focused on teaching human rights as well as international standards and practices in the operation of a nationwide corrections system.
* In December 2006, the Iraq Prison Assessment Rating Tool (I-PART) was launched to measure capacity building according to 68 customized international prison treatment standards. This tool captures prison conditions, establishes a method for deploying necessary assets, and demonstrates programmatic results.
* Having successfully built an indigenous training capacity within the ICS, ICITAP is providing instructor development courses to Iraqi instructors who, in turn, provide advanced training in system prison management, weapons, emergency response team, transportation, personal security detail, and biometrics to Iraqi and Kurdish Corrections Officers.
* ICS personnel developed and assisted with the implementation of a records review system that has become a standard operating procedure and has proven essential in the timely review of detainee cases.
* Under the supervision and training of ICITAP staff, ICS personnel continue to develop practical skills and professional status in anticipation of their assumption of management and security responsibility for prisons and detention centers throughout Iraq.