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CNN Live At Daybreak
Lack of Local Police a Huge Problem
Aired July 09, 2003 - 05:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, now to Iraq, where the lack of local police is a huge problem. The situation has been made worse with the recent attacks on Iraqi police. But have those attacks affected recruiting for new police officers?
For that, we check in with CNN Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf at an Iraqi police training center -- good morning to you, Janie.
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fredricka.
We're here at the central police academy, where there are 100 very brave Iraqis who are undergoing retraining as Iraqi police officers. Now, you can see behind me, they're doing an exercise in what to do if you are faced with someone who has a gun and you don't and you are the police officer, which we have to say probably is not an uncommon situation given the lack of weapons for Iraqi police officers these days.
Let's just watch a little bit of it.
Now, this is an explanation for Iraqi police who are already police. But many of them have received no training. They're now being trained by Corporal James Martinez.
Corporal, can we have you over here?
CPL. JAMES MARTINEZ, U.S. MILITARY POLICE: How are you doing?
ARRAF: Hi.
You are usually a California police officer.
MARTINEZ: Yes, I am.
ARRAF: Now, what's the difference between the cops in California and these guys in terms of training?
MARTINEZ: Not much. We're, well, we're adapting to United Nations training, so we're not dealing with, you know, the United States constitution. But the training, the safety principles, we're giving the best that we've got as far as safety, knowledge training on human rights law. This, it's, it's very, very comparable, good stuff.
ARRAF: Are they good students?
MARTINEZ: Oh, they're excellent. They are. They came here, they want to learn, they're wanting to get more training, more of the good police training is what they're looking for.
ARRAF: Now, some of them have been police officers for years. What kind of training were they lacking?
MARTINEZ: We haven't been able to really assess how much they were lacking because they -- every time that they come in, we talk about lectures and we talk about the classes. All of them are very knowledgeable on, you know, proper treatment of prisoners, basic human rights law. This is just stuff that they're actually absorbing. It's becoming second nature to them and they're just going really well. So it's not that they were lacking. I think it's just now we're polishing, which is really good.
ARRAF: Thank you so much.
MARTINEZ: Thank you.
ARRAF: That's Corporal James Martinez.
This is, in fact, Fredricka, the first group of police recruits. Now, there are police out there in some Baghdad stations, but these are the first who are coming here for training. It's a three week program. They will graduate the first 100 who are undergoing training with American police officers. And hopefully they'll be out on the streets making it a safer place -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Jane Arraf in Baghdad.
Thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 9, 2003 - 05:03 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, now to Iraq, where the lack of local police is a huge problem. The situation has been made worse with the recent attacks on Iraqi police. But have those attacks affected recruiting for new police officers?
For that, we check in with CNN Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf at an Iraqi police training center -- good morning to you, Janie.
JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fredricka.
We're here at the central police academy, where there are 100 very brave Iraqis who are undergoing retraining as Iraqi police officers. Now, you can see behind me, they're doing an exercise in what to do if you are faced with someone who has a gun and you don't and you are the police officer, which we have to say probably is not an uncommon situation given the lack of weapons for Iraqi police officers these days.
Let's just watch a little bit of it.
Now, this is an explanation for Iraqi police who are already police. But many of them have received no training. They're now being trained by Corporal James Martinez.
Corporal, can we have you over here?
CPL. JAMES MARTINEZ, U.S. MILITARY POLICE: How are you doing?
ARRAF: Hi.
You are usually a California police officer.
MARTINEZ: Yes, I am.
ARRAF: Now, what's the difference between the cops in California and these guys in terms of training?
MARTINEZ: Not much. We're, well, we're adapting to United Nations training, so we're not dealing with, you know, the United States constitution. But the training, the safety principles, we're giving the best that we've got as far as safety, knowledge training on human rights law. This, it's, it's very, very comparable, good stuff.
ARRAF: Are they good students?
MARTINEZ: Oh, they're excellent. They are. They came here, they want to learn, they're wanting to get more training, more of the good police training is what they're looking for.
ARRAF: Now, some of them have been police officers for years. What kind of training were they lacking?
MARTINEZ: We haven't been able to really assess how much they were lacking because they -- every time that they come in, we talk about lectures and we talk about the classes. All of them are very knowledgeable on, you know, proper treatment of prisoners, basic human rights law. This is just stuff that they're actually absorbing. It's becoming second nature to them and they're just going really well. So it's not that they were lacking. I think it's just now we're polishing, which is really good.
ARRAF: Thank you so much.
MARTINEZ: Thank you.
ARRAF: That's Corporal James Martinez.
This is, in fact, Fredricka, the first group of police recruits. Now, there are police out there in some Baghdad stations, but these are the first who are coming here for training. It's a three week program. They will graduate the first 100 who are undergoing training with American police officers. And hopefully they'll be out on the streets making it a safer place -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Jane Arraf in Baghdad.
Thanks very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
