Iraqi Police

Last updated
Iraqi Police
الشرطة العراقية
Shurta/Polis
Iraqi Federal Police SSI.svg
Iraqi Federal Police SSI
AbbreviationIP
Agency overview
Formed9 January 1922 (1922-01-09)
Preceding agency
  • Iraqi Police
Employees397,264[ citation needed ]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdiction Iraq
Governing body Ministry of Interior (Iraq)
General nature

The Iraqi Police (IP) is the uniformed police force responsible for the enforcement of civil law in Iraq. Its organisation, structure and recruitment were guided by the Coalition Provisional Authority after the 2003 American invasion of Iraq, and it is commanded by the reformed Iraqi Ministry of the Interior. "IP" refers to the Iraqi Police, and "ISF" to the broader Iraqi security forces, In 1922, the General Police Directorate was established under an Iraqi administration.[ citation needed ] The current commander of the Federal Police Forces is Lieutenant General Raed Shaker Jawdat.

Contents

History

The current Iraqi Police has some links with the pre-war Iraqi police service, which was professional and low in repression priority. Therefore, the police were expected to remain cohesive and to be a useful instrument after the invasion as well. [1]

It was intended to form the basis for the police force of the new Iraq, but the civil disorder caused this project to be abandoned. [2] Following the emergency stipend payment, some police came back especially in Baghdad and the U.S. Army military police conducted emergency training. [2] At the same time, in the south the British forces began to establish local police forces in coordination with Shiite religious leaders. [2]

In the north, Kurdish security forces did not experience any interruption, and in Mosul a thousand former police officers were hired by Major General David Petraeus in order to maintain the public order. [3]

In the meantime, the Coalition Provisional Authority worked with the renewed Ministry of Interior in order to purge Baathist officials (7,000 police officers fired by Bernard Kerik only in Baghdad) and to establish a police forces in short terms. [4] In the first four months, the first training course was launched and over 4,000 officers were trained. [3] In 2003 recruitment, applicants were mostly former soldiers and police officers who served under the Baathist rule. At the end of 2003, Iraqi Police formally totalled 50,000 officers. [5]

Iraqi Women Police in 2007 Iraqi police women.jpg
Iraqi Women Police in 2007

Organization and oversight

Police river boat on the Tigris Iraqi river police in SAFE boat.jpg
Police river boat on the Tigris

In 2009 the Iraqi Police was under the command of Major General Hussein Jassim Alawadi. [6] The Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq (MNSTC-I) was a United States Central Command organisation tasked to train, mentor and equip all Iraqi civilian security forces. MNSTC-I also had the goal of training their counterparts in the Iraqi government of Iraq to assume their role. MNSTC-I was dissolved in 2010.

The Iraqi Police had three main branches:

By 2012-13 there were four Federal Police Divisions, spread out around the country. The 1st and 2nd Motorized Divisions were headquartered in Baghdad and created out of the former Commando Division and the Public Order Division. [9] The 3rd Federal Police Division, under the auspices of the Ninewa Operational Command with its headquarters in Mosul, collapsed in the ISIS 2014 Northern Iraq offensive by 9 June. [10] The 4th Division was headquartered in Basra. Some reinforcing units, such as the 9th Brigade, 4th Federal Police Division, also withered once deployed to the front lines. [11]

Uniforms

The Iraqi Police Service uniform consists of a long-sleeved, light-blue shirt with a blue brassard on the left arm with an embroidered Iraqi flag and "Iraqi Police" embossed in English and Arabic, black or light-blue trousers or blue combat trousers similar to those of the United States Navy. They wear a dark-blue baseball cap with "POLICE" in white letters or body armour and a PASGT helmet.

Federal Police wear a black-and-blue camouflage uniform similar to the U.S. Army Combat Uniform Universal Camouflage Pattern, [12] which includes a baseball cap, body armour and PASGT helmet. FP uniforms are issued when an officer has completed training; officers not yet trained wear a variety of uniforms, including woodland camouflage. FP officers are organised into brigades which cover geographic areas. Rank insignia for the IP is nearly identical to that of the Iraqi Army, except that the shoulder boards are usually dark blue.

Ranks

Officers ranks and ranks of NCOs and constables are the same that of Iraqi army, from highest to lowest, with symbol on epaulette, as below:

Insignia

Officers
Rank groupGeneral / flag officersSenior officersJunior officers
MOI.png
Iraqi Police 		IraqArmyRankInsignia-2.png IraqArmyRankInsignia-3.png IraqArmyRankInsignia-4.png IraqArmyRankInsignia-5.png IraqArmyRankInsignia-6.png IraqArmyRankInsignia-7.png IraqArmyRankInsignia-8.png IraqArmyRankInsignia-9.png IraqArmyRankInsignia-10.png IraqArmyRankInsignia-11.png
General Lieutenant General Major General Brigadier Colonel Lieutenant Colonel Major Captain First Lieutenant Lieutenant
Warrant Officers
Warrant Officer
MOI.png
Iraqi Police 		nZ7.png nZ6.png nZ5.png nZ4.png nZ3.png nZ2.png nD1.png
Warrant Officer (1st Class)Warrant Officer (2nd Class)Warrant Officer (3rd Class)Warrant Officer (4th Class)Warrant Officer (5th Class)Warrant Officer (6th Class)Warrant Officer (7th Class)
Other ranks
Constabulary ranks
MOI.png
Iraqi Police 		IraqNCONavyRankInsignia-1.svg IraqNCONavyRankInsignia-2.svg IraqNCONavyRankInsignia-3.svg IraqNCONavyRankInsignia-4.svg IraqNCONavyRankInsignia-5.svg
Staff SeargentSeargentCorporalPoliceman
1st Class		Policeman

Controversy

An Iraqi police officer armed with a Tabuk sniper rifle. Iraqi police officer with Tabuk sniper rifle.jpg
An Iraqi police officer armed with a Tabuk sniper rifle.

The Iraqi Police has faced a number of problems since it was reformed by the Coalition Provisional Authority after the fall of Baghdad. It became the target of fighters from inside and outside Iraq; thousands of officers have been killed by gunfire and bombings by Iraqi insurgents, foreign terrorists and, in some cases, friendly fire from Coalition troops. [13] An estimated 4,250 Iraqi police officers were killed from January 2005 and 4 March 2006. Due to high [14] unemployment in Iraq, many young Iraqi men have volunteered to join the police forces. A number of recruits have been killed by suicide bombers and suicide car bombs whilst queueing at police stations. [15]

The IP has also been infiltrated [16] by insurgents, who use access to privileged information, training and weapons for their own motives. Many police stations have been attacked, [17] blown up, [18] had weapons stolen from them and have been occupied by opponents of the Iraqi government; as a result, many police officers have abandoned their posts. [19] As of October 7, 2006, 12,000 Iraqi Police deserted and 4,000 were killed. [20]

On 17 August 2016, a market owner was killed by a police officer after a brawl began when the market owner "refused to back his vehicle" in Baghdad. [21]

Extremism

The Ba'athist regime began to increase the role of extremist Islam in government during the early 1990s, with required religious education in the schools, honor killings and religious committees to punish those deemed in violation of traditional mores (such as adultery, fornication, and homosexuality).

The Iraqi constitution stipulates Islam as the official religion, enacted laws must conform to sharia and provisions for civil rights and liberties are in accordance with public mores.[ citation needed ] Many members of the Iraqi police and Interior Ministry have ties to the Islamic fundamentalist Badr Brigade, which have been given leeway to punish those suspected of immorality. In Basra, police guarding a local park reportedly made no attempt to stop an armed group from severely beating two women and shooting a male Iraqi friend of theirs to death. [22]

Iraqi government

The Iraqi government has been accused of using (or allowing) the police and other groups to carry out sectarian killings and kidnappings of Sunni Iraqis. In December 2005, US troops found 625 inmates held in "very overcrowded" conditions in a Baghdad Interior Ministry building. Twelve of the prisoners reportedly had signs of torture and malnutrition. [23] The story gave credence to the accusations, sowing further distrust of the police force. A report into the findings at the building was promised by Iraqi president Ibrahim Jaafari at the end of December 2005, but as of 4 May 2006 no report was issued.

The United States Department of State released a 2006 human rights report accusing the Iraqi police of widespread atrocities. [24] [25] In October of that year, the Iraqi government dismantled a police brigade with connections to sectarian death squads. The dismantled brigade was transferred to a US base for retraining. Other police brigades will be investigated for links to death squads.

Strength

The number of police is difficult to estimate, since local police chiefs may exaggerate their numbers to obtain increased funding for their stations, and people drift in and out of service. Although the total Ministry of Interior payroll exceeds 150,000, many are off-duty at any given time. As of mid-2024, the National Police Forces employed about 10,000 officers. The number is somewhat misleading, because one-third to one-half of the NP are on leave at any given time.

Deaths

Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bulani announced that as of December 24, 2005, 12,000 police officers in Iraq died in the line of duty since the 2003 US-led invasion. [13] [26]

Transition teams

Large-scale operations were conducted by coalition forces to assist in policing and train the Iraqi Police (IP) and security forces. Police transition teams (PTTs) are US military-police squads deployed to Iraqi Police stations. The teams conduct joint patrols with the IP, share station defense and gather station information and counter-terrorism intelligence. The joint patrols of the PTTs have helped curb violence, increasing respect for Iraq's police force. These duties were later performed by United States Air Force Security Forces members. An International Police Liaison Officer (IPLO), an experienced US police officer, accompanied most of the transition teams to aid post-academy training of the IP.

National Police Transition Teams (NPTT) are 11-man military transition teams embedded in Iraqi Police units at the battalion, brigade, division and corps levels. These teams are supplied by the US Army and the US Marine Corps. Like the PTTs, each team is assisted by an IPLO and one to six local interpreters.

Equipment

Members of the Iraqi Police use the Glock 19 and HS2000 [27] handgun, and may carry a shotgun, Type 81, [28] or AK-47 rifle on patrol. Iraqi Federal Police have also been seen using the Croatian-made HS Produkt VHS-2 bullpup carbine during military operations against ISIS in northern Iraq. [29] For marine operations, the police are equipped with Safe Boat International 230 T-Top patrol boats.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Republican Guard (Iraq)</span> 1969–2003 elite branch of Iraqs military

The Iraqi Republican Guard was a branch of the Iraqi military from 1969 to 2003, which existed primarily during the presidency of Saddam Hussein. It later became known as the Republican Guard Corps, and then the Republican Guard Forces Command (RGFC) with its expansion into two corps. The Republican Guard was disbanded in 2003 after the invasion of Iraq by a U.S.-led international coalition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Special Republican Guard (Iraq)</span> 1992–2003 elite branch of Iraqs Republican Guard

The Iraqi Special Republican Guard (SRG), also known as the Special Forces Brigade of the Presidential Palace, Republican Guard Special Protection Forces, or the Golden Division, was an Iraqi personal security force founded in either early 1992 or March 1995 in Ba'athist-era Iraq. The Special Republican Guard was controlled by the Special Security Organization and charged with protecting President Saddam Hussein, presidential sites, Baghdad, and responding to any rebellion, coup, or other threat to his power.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraqi insurgency (2003–2011)</span> Sectarian/anti-government warfare in American-occupied Iraq

An Iraqi insurgency began shortly after the 2003 American invasion deposed longtime leader Saddam Hussein. It is considered to have lasted until the end of the Iraq War and U.S. withdrawal in 2011. It was followed by a renewed insurgency.

Events in the year 2005 in Iraq.

The Iraqi Ground Forces, also referred to as the Iraqi Army, is the ground force component of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It was formerly known as the Royal Iraqi Army up until the coup of July 1958. The current commander is Lieutenant General Qassim Muhammad Salih.

The Coalition Military Assistance Training Team (CMATT) was a part of the Coalition Provisional Authority created to organize, train and equip the Iraqi Army from 2003. It later became part of Multi-National Security Transition Command - Iraq (MNSTC-I). CMATT had initial plans to stand up nine infantry brigades in three divisions, a coastal defense force, and lay the framework of an aviation arm of the military.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1920 Revolution Brigades</span> Sunni militia group in Iraq

The 1920 Revolution Brigades was a Sunni militant group in Iraq, which included former members of the disbanded Iraqi army. It was established by the members of the former Ba'ath army of Saddam Hussein in 2003 following the American invasion. The group had used improvised explosive devices, and armed attacks against U.S.-led Coalition forces and comprises the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement. The group was named in reference to the Iraqi revolt of 1920.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraqi Armed Forces</span> Ministry of Defence military forces of Iraq

The Iraqi Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of Iraq. They consist of the Ground forces, the Army Aviation Command, the Iraqi Air Force, the Air Defence Command and the Iraqi Navy. The armed forces are administered by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Effective control of the MOD armed forces rests with the Prime Minister of Iraq. Along with these primary service branches, there exists the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service and the non-MOD paramilitary Popular Mobilization Forces.

Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq (MNSTC-I) was a training and organizational-support command of the United States Department of Defense. It was established in June 2004. It was a military formation of Multi-National Force – Iraq responsible for developing, organizing, training, equipping, and sustaining the Iraqi Ministry of Defense (MoD), with the Iraqi Armed Forces, including the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Service; and the Ministry of Interior (Iraq) with the Iraqi Police and Border Enforcement, Facilities Protection, and other forces. It was headquartered in the International Zone in Baghdad at Phoenix Base, a former elementary school.

Jeish Muhammad is an Iraqi militant group that is both politically and religiously motivated. The politically motivated faction within JM is primarily made up of former Ba'athist members mainly from the Sunni region. Many who enjoyed special status during the leadership of Saddam Hussein were from Tikrit, which is in turn within an area of Iraq where the Arab population is mostly Sunni. People who generally hold the ex-vice-president, Izzat Ibrahim ad-Douri, in exceptionally high esteem were members of the security, intelligence and police forces from the previous government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 Iraq spring fighting</span> Engagements during the Iraq War

The 2004 Iraq spring fighting was a series of operational offensives and various major engagements during the Iraq War. It was a turning point in the war; the Spring Fighting marked the entrance into the conflict of militias and religiously based militant Iraqi groups, such as the Shi'a Mahdi Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Interior (Iraq)</span> Government ministry in Iraq

The Ministry of Interior (MOI) is the government body charged with overseeing policing and border control in Iraq. The MOI comprises several agencies, including the Iraqi Police, Highway Patrol, Traffic Department, Emergency Response Unit, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit, and Department of Border Enforcement. Following passage of the Facilities Protection Service Reform Law, the Ministry absorbed FPS personnel previously spread among other ministries. The MOI has approximately 380,430 employees, and the Ministry of Finance approved US$3.8 billion for its 2008 budget, representing a 21% growth over the previous year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolf Brigade (Iraq)</span> Military unit

The Wolf Brigade, since 2006 officially Freedom Brigade, is a unit of roughly 2,000 special commando police officially under the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Civilian Police Assistance Training Team</span>

The Civilian Police Assistance Training Team or CPATT was a multinational advisory team operating within the US-led coalition in Iraq to rebuild the Iraqi Police.

The 2008 Nineveh campaign was a series of offensives and counter-attacks between insurgent and Coalition forces for control of the Nineveh Governorate in northern Iraq in early-to-mid-2008. Some fighting also occurred in the neighboring Kirkuk Governorate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anbar campaign (2003–2011)</span> Campaign during the Iraq War

The Anbar campaign consisted of fighting between the United States military, together with Iraqi security forces, and Sunni insurgents in the western Iraqi governorate of Al Anbar. The Iraq War lasted from 2003 to 2011, but the majority of the fighting and counterinsurgency campaign in Anbar took place between April 2004 and September 2007. Although the fighting initially featured heavy urban warfare primarily between insurgents and U.S. Marines, insurgents in later years focused on ambushing the American and Iraqi security forces with improvised explosive devices (IEDs), large scale attacks on combat outposts, and car bombings. Almost 9,000 Iraqis and 1,335 Americans were killed in the campaign, many in the Euphrates River Valley and the Sunni Triangle around the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi.

Victory Base Complex (VBC) was a cluster of U.S. military installations surrounding the Baghdad International Airport (BIAP). The primary component of the VBC was Camp Victory, the location of the Al-Faw Palace, which served as the headquarters for the Multi-National Corps - Iraq, and later as the headquarters for the United States Forces - Iraq.

The Ground Forces Command at Victory Base Complex near Baghdad Airport was the most important fighting formation in the Iraqi Army. The headquarters of the Iraqi Ground Forces Command and the Iraqi Joint Forces Command are the same entity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">5th Division (Iraq)</span> Military unit

The 5th Division is a military formation of the Iraqi Army. The division is currently deployed in eastern Iraq – predominantly Diyala Governorate. Following the losses suffered by the Iraqi Army during fighting in the ISIL campaign in Northern Iraq, the Iraqi security forces became increasingly reliant on non-state militia units – the Popular Mobilization Forces. As of October 2015, Reuters reported that the 5th Division reported to the PMF chain of command, instead of the official military hierarchy.

References

  1. ↑ Bensahel, Nora; Oliker, Olga; Crane, Keith; Brennan, Richard R. Jr.; Gregg, Heather S. (2008). After Saddam: Prewar Planning and the Occupation of Iraq. Rand Corporation. p. 121. ISBN   9780833044587.
  2. 1 2 3 Bensahel, Nora; Oliker, Olga; Crane, Keith; Brennan, Richard R. Jr.; Gregg, Heather S. (2008). After Saddam: Prewar Planning and the Occupation of Iraq. Rand Corporation. p. 125. ISBN   9780833044587.
  3. 1 2 Bensahel, Nora; Oliker, Olga; Crane, Keith; Brennan, Richard R. Jr.; Gregg, Heather S. (2008). After Saddam: Prewar Planning and the Occupation of Iraq. Rand Corporation. p. 126. ISBN   9780833044587.
  4. ↑ Bensahel, Nora; Oliker, Olga; Crane, Keith; Brennan, Richard R. Jr.; Gregg, Heather S. (2008). After Saddam: Prewar Planning and the Occupation of Iraq. Rand Corporation. p. 124. ISBN   9780833044587.
  5. ↑ Bensahel, Nora; Oliker, Olga; Crane, Keith; Brennan, Richard R. Jr.; Gregg, Heather S. (2008). After Saddam: Prewar Planning and the Occupation of Iraq. Rand Corporation. p. 127. ISBN   9780833044587.
  6. ↑ "Federal Police Commander". Archived from the original on 2010-06-16. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
  7. ↑ "Training the Iraqi National Police | FDD's Long War Journal". 3 July 2007.
  8. ↑ "Iraqi National Police Renamed Federal Police | United States Forces - Iraq". Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2011-01-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) Iraqi National Police Renamed Federal Police
  9. ↑ Cordesman, Anthony; Khazai, Sam (2014-06-12). Shaping Iraq's Security Forces (PDF). Washington DC.: Center for Strategic and International Studies. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
  10. ↑ http://www.insideiraqipolitics.com/Files/IIPNinawaExcerpts.pdf, page 13.
  11. ↑ Chivers, C. J. (2014-07-01). "After Retreat, Iraqi Soldiers Fault Officers". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-02-13.
  12. ↑ "Majority of Iraqi police trained, equipped - United States Forces - Iraq". Archived from the original on 2008-09-17.
  13. 1 2 "Iraq Coalition Casualty Count". Icasualties.org. Archived from the original on 2008-02-12. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  14. ↑ "Unemployment High, Future Uncertain in Iraq". ABC News. January 24, 2005. Archived from the original on February 21, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  15. ↑ "Bomber hits Iraq army recruits". BBC News. July 20, 2005. Archived from the original on November 13, 2012. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  16. ↑ "IRAQ: INSURGENTS HAVE INFILTRATED POLICE, SAYS SECURITY ADVISER". adnki.com. Archived from the original on 2006-03-17. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  17. ↑ "Car bomb hits Iraq police station". BBC News. December 14, 2003. Archived from the original on December 19, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  18. ↑ "Mosque Bombed in Baghdad Attacks". Buzzle.com. Archived from the original on 2004-12-23. Retrieved 2008-02-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  19. ↑ Rory McCarthy (December 3, 2004). "Man on a mission". guardian.co.uk. Archived from the original on August 28, 2013. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  20. ↑ "More than 12,000 Iraqi police casualties in 2 years". CNN. October 7, 2006. Archived from the original on February 18, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  21. ↑ "Market owner shot dead by policeman in Baghdad". iraqinews.com. 17 August 2016. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016.
  22. ↑ Catherine Philp (March 23, 2005). "Death at 'immoral' picnic in the park". London: Times Online. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  23. ↑ "New 'torture jail' found in Iraq". BBC News. December 12, 2005. Archived from the original on February 27, 2009. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  24. ↑ Brian Knowlton (March 9, 2006). "Iraqi Police Are Tied to Abuses and Deaths, U.S. Review Finds". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 18, 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  25. ↑ "Iraq: Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005". U.S. Department of State. March 8, 2006. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  26. ↑ "Iraqi police deaths 'hit 12,000'". BBC News. December 24, 2006. Archived from the original on February 14, 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
  27. ↑ "Irački MUP kupio hrvatske pištolje za svoje policajce". 24sata.hr. Archived from the original on 2010-03-17. Retrieved 2017-01-21.
  28. ↑ "81式自动步枪的同门兄弟——1981年式7.62毫米班用机枪". wap.eastday.com. Archived from the original on 2016-10-20.
  29. ↑ "Iraq: Security forces fend off Islamic State fighters from Mosul frontline". Ruptly. Retrieved May 24, 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.