ICITAP EXPOSES TURKMENISTAN'S LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS TO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 000003

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CA, EUR/ACE, INL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID KJUS KCRM TX
SUBJECT: ICITAP EXPOSES TURKMENISTAN'S LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS TO
U.S. TECHNIQUES



1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Not for public Internet.


2. (U) SUMMARY: For the first time, law-enforcement officers from
all five of Turkmenistan's provinces plus Ashgabat gathered for a
Department of Justice International Criminal Investigative Training
Assistance Program (ICITAP) training course on crime scene
processing. (COMMENT: UNODC has also organized similar training in
the past. END COMMENT.) The two ICITAP instructors were pleased by
the officers' enthusiasm to learn new forensics techniques. On
their evaluation forms, most participants deemed the training a
success but asked to include more practical exercises in the future.
The ICITAP team suggested other areas for cooperation, including
donations of expendable equipment, expanded English-language
training, and more law-enforcement training. In fact, there is so
much work to do in Turkmenistan that it may be time to consider
assigning a Ministry of Justice legal attache or an INL officer to
Embassy Ashgabat. END SUMMARY.


3. (U) During the December 10-21 ICITAP course, two crime scene
investigators exposed 25 law enforcement officials from all five
provinces in Turkmenistan plus Ashgabat to international law
enforcement forensic techniques. This was the first time that many
of the students, some recently graduated from the Police Academy,
had seen demonstrations of these techniques. Topics covered
included securing a scene, crime scene photography, fingerprinting
and fingerprint analysis, bloodstain patterns and bloodstain
analysis, sketching, DNA, footwear and impression evidence, and
firearms and toolmarks.

STUDENTS EAGER FOR IMPROVED INVESTIGATION TECHNIQUES


4. (U) The instructors observed that the students were attentive,
engaged, and eager to learn. After the first day, they began to
feel more comfortable and asked many questions. The instructors
staged practical crime scene exercises in and outside of the hotel
where the classes took place and covered all the steps of
documenting and investigating a crime scene. The instructors noted
that the students did not seem comfortable with crime scene
investigations at first. Since Turkmen officers do not have
equipment -- such as cameras -- necessary to document, local crime
scene investigators must have two witnesses at a crime scene in
order to collect evidence. The ICITAP instructors said that the
students learned during hands-on exercises how methodically to
process a crime scene, and learned to take excellent photographs.

CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATORS AND ANALYSTS MUST WORK TOGETHER


5. (U) The instructors also said that the students felt that it was
not necessary to understand the principles of fingerprint
identification because "other people" from Turkmenistan's Criminal
Research Center (CRC) departments analyze fingerprints. However,
the investigators told the students that they needed some basic
training in forensic sciences to better understand how to help the
fingerprint analysis experts. On the same note, the instructors
were disappointed that no CRC personnel took part in this training,
because the investigators on the ground needed to have a more
in-depth understanding of laboratory work to be of greater
assistance to the labs.

CONSISTENCY IS A CONSISTENT ISSUE


6. (U) The ICITAP instructor team recommended that this group of
students return in the spring for additional training to build on
what they learned in this course. They also recommended providing
instruction to Ministry of Interior Police Academy trainers to
improve training techniques at the most fundamental level. ICITAP
also noted that the lack of personnel consistency at the Criminal
Research Center -- turnover of the director -- also seems to be a
problem.

LEARNING SKILLS IMPORTANT FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT


ASHGABAT 00000003 002 OF 002



7. (U) The instructors were concerned that no CRC personnel are
enrolled in this term's English Language Training (ELT) course, a
project the embassy jointly sponsors with the British Embassy. CRC
personnel need to speak English to read professional forensic
journals. They also need to have the ability to read instruction
manuals in order to utilize ICITAP-donated lab equipment to its
maximum potential and to maintain it. A knowledge of English would
also help these personnel integrate into the international forensic
community.


8. (U) ICITAP will send two Criminal Research Center personnel to
the American Association of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) meeting in
February in Washington, D.C., and possibly also to the next
international forensics meeting in New Orleans. CRC Director
Shirmamedov thanked ICITAP for providing training and equipment to
his laboratory and credited ICITAP with making his laboratory one of
the best-equipped in Central Asia.

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS: SUPPLIES


9. (U) When asked for recommendations, the ICITAP instructors said
that Turkmenistan's law-enforcement agencies could use expendables
used in running the donated equipment, such as ink jet cartridges,
magnetic wands, fingerprint powder, and supplies used to replenish
the mobile crime scene processing vans. They also recommended the
donation to the provinces of cameras for documenting crime scenes.
The instructors emphasized the need for more training and suggested
working with Turkmenistan's Police Academy to incorporate some of
the training into its curriculum.

TURKMEN BEGIN TO INVEST IN THEMSELVES: A GOOD SIGN


10. (U) The ICITAP instructors noted that an underfunded forensics
laboratory and law-enforcement sector in the Soviet system stretched
the Turkmen capacity for activity and action. However, ICITAP is
encouraged that Turkmenistan is showing a commitment to making
improvements by spending its own money, rather than relying
exclusively on foreign donations.


11. (U) COMMENT: We welcome the spring visit of the ICITAP
trainers and look forward to exploring their ideas on training
Academy trainers. Given the opportunity for closer cooperation, it
might be time to assign a Department of Justice legal attache, or an
INL officer to Embassy Ashgabat. As an area for engagement with the
government of Turkmenistan, law enforcement is a growth industry,
and there is plenty to do. The relationship would only benefit and
grow from this permanent, dedicated presence. END COMMENT.