Restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic have led UNDP to adapt to new ways of working, including combined virtual and on-site modalities. In Iraq, a multi-partner collaboration to provide virtual training to Iraqi Local Police has been organized by UNDP in partnership with the Ministry of Interior’s Training and Qualification Directorate, the Police Affairs Agency, Governorate Police Directorates and Danish National Police. 

Over the course of the next few weeks, a series of specialised trainings on Improving Effectiveness of Local Policing (IELP) and criminal investigations will be delivered to Iraqi Local Police mid-level managers by UNDP and Danish National Police in collaboration with the Iraqi Ministry of Interior’s Training and Qualification Directorate. The training sessions will focus on modern crime prevention techniques and multi-source data/ information collection and analysis, allowing police to effectively serve the public and promote safer communities. This training advances the implementation of the Local Police Service Road Map that was adopted in May 2018. 

According to one Iraqi Local Police co-instructor, “This virtual training experience, jointly conducted by UNDP and the Ministry of the Interior/Training and Qualification Directorate Criminal Investigation Training Center is the first of its kind at the Iraqi Ministry of Interior due to the coronavirus pandemic. While keeping up with the modern communication developments, despite anticipating some technical challenges, the experiment was very successful and proved that it can be expanded to train more officers. Being an Iraqi instructor side by side with the instructors from UNDP is very important and will greatly contribute to developing training skills and exchanging experiences in this field."

The first group of 15 participants and Iraqi police instructors from Ninewa, Anbar, and Baghdad attended a five-day course in Baghdad starting on November 1, while course instructors from the Danish Police and UNDP experts joined virtually from Denmark and other remote workstations. By the end of the project, 100 Local Police Officers will be trained.

Anders Hansen, Senior Training Instructor, Danish National Police states, “We are very satisfied to be able to support the Iraqi Police in the education of their police officers. We have been doing the training on site in Iraq but due to the unfortunate circumstances of the current pandemic this is not possible. Instead this web-based solution has proved to be a perfect substitution of the regular training, and we are very happy that it is possible to do with the help of the UN in Iraq.” 

In line with current COVID-19 social distancing rules and health regulations in Iraq, all courses will include smaller size classes with personal protective equipment available to all participants who attend in-person. 

UNDP is grateful to the governments of the Netherlands, Canada and Denmark for their generous support.