Copyright © The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press.
The Lessons of Policing in Iraq—a Personal Perspective
* MOD Research Fellow at St Andrews University's Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence, UK. E-mail: aa41@st-andrews.ac.uk
Affi Ashraf is a Research Fellow at St Andrews University's Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence. As a senior officer in the British armed forces he served in Iraq and has since been involved in coordinating the UK's contribution to the reform of the Iraqi Police Service. This article examines the challenges of policing in Iraq's post-conflict environment, and highlights the lack of consensus on the appropriate policing model to adopt.
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Introduction |
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Of the many views expressed on the current war in Iraq, one of the least contentious is that it is a rich seam for lessons. A tenacious insurgency and the greatest concentration of terrorist activity in modern times are often cited as the causes of Iraq's problems. The role that the breakdown of law and order played in creating the current situation remains to be fully explored, as does the failure, so far, to create an effective police force. On the other hand, the extreme nature of the situation in Iraq has exposed the weaknesses and limits of the UK's ability to provide international policing assistance in an insecure environment.
This paper is based on the observations of the author who served in Iraq between October 2004 and February 2005, and it considers how Iraq's situation, immediately before the invasion, affected Security Sector Reform activity, and how that knowledge may
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Relevance of background to security sector reform |
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Planning |
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A slow start
A rush to succeed
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Challenges facing the UK's contribution |
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Availability of UK police officer volunteers for Iraq
Recognition and reward
Perceptions of risk
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Strategy |
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What is the right style of policing for Iraq?
Measuring and defining success
The justice, penal and intelligence parts of the picture
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Conclusions |
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