New Police Officers Join Ranks of Iraqis Protecting Iraq

Contact: Shane Wolfe wolfes@orha.centcom.mil NEW POLICE OFFICERS JOIN RANKS OF IRAQIS PROTECTING IRAQ Baghdad, Iraq January 30, 2004 – Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III today offered his congratulations to the nearly 500 new police officers who will soon be on the streets of Iraq, protecting the Iraqi people as part of the Iraqi Police Service. Four-hundred sixty-six newly-hired officers graduated Thursday from the Jordan International Police Training Center following an eight-week training program, becoming the first class to graduate from the Training Center. “These new officers should feel proud and know that the Iraqi people – and I – respect them and the new human-rights-respecting Iraqi Police Service,” said Bremer. “Like thousands of other Iraqis, these officers have taken a visible step forward to securing the people and the future of the new Iraq. Right now in Iraq, there are more Iraqis providing security than there are Coalition forces here.” During the graduation ceremony, Iraqi Minister of Interior Nouri Badran offered congratulations to the new officers. A second class of 500 students has already begun its training at the Training Center and will graduate in six weeks. A third class of 1000 students will begin its training early next month. Five-hundred additional trainees are currently receiving instruction at the Baghdad Police Academy. The new graduates received their training from instructors from Iraq, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Austria and Jordan. The Iraqi Police Service, part of the Ministry of Interior, currently consists of approximately 67,000 personnel.