VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSI #0493/01 0811141
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 211141Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY TBILISI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9140
INFO RHMCSUU/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RUEHYE/AMEMBASSY YEREVAN 2271

UNCLAS TBILISI 000493 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR INL/AAE, G/TIP, EUR/ACE, EUR/CARC 
 
E.O. 12958: NA 
TAGS: SNAR PGOV MARR KCRM GG
SUBJECT: THE POLICE: INL TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE UPDATE - 
FIRST QUARTER CY08 
 
Ref: TBILISI 60 
 
¶1. Summary: INL Tbilisi activities in the first quarter of 2008 run 
the gamut from forensics to first aid.  Some ongoing projects were 
completed with fanfare, e.g., opening of the Police Academy's 
English Language Center, while others are being launched, such as 
evaluation and assessment of Georgia's fingerprint database 
capabilities. Training programs for forensic ballistics examiners, 
military personnel, and horse-mounted police officers continues. End 
Summary. 
 
Fingerprint Database 
-------------------- 
 
¶2.  Two FBI CJIS (Criminal Justice Information Service) 
representatives visited Tbilisi January 20-25 to evaluate 
fingerprint programs in Georgia and explore how the USG might 
support Georgian law enforcement and begin sharing fingerprint 
records.  INL Tbilisi is committed to supporting the purchase and 
installation of an automated fingerprint identification system 
(AFIS) and accompanied the CJIS team on their assessment.   The CJIS 
representatives met with Laboratory Directors and fingerprint 
section personnel to assess techniques and record-keeping at both 
the National Forensics Bureau (NFB) and the Ministry of Internal 
Affairs' lab.  Both labs have skilled personnel and demonstrated 
appropriate techniques for completing a standard 10-print 
fingerprint card. The Ministry of Justice's NFB Lab  does not have 
an automated database for storing prints but files the cards 
according to the Henry classification system (most common 
internationally).  The MOIA lab maintains an automated fingerprint 
database, but the system -- manufactured in Belarus -- has limited 
capabilities. 
 
¶3. The CJIS representatives held a joint meeting with Deputy 
Minister of Internal Affairs Eka Zguladze and Deputy Minister of 
Justice Maia Kopaleishvili to provide an outbrief.  The Ministries 
agreed that a new AFIS system would be administered by the Ministry 
of Justice, -- with full access available to users -- including the 
Ministry of Internal Affairs.  Agreement between the ministries on 
the system's administration had been a major impediment to a new 
AFIS purchase.  With agreement now in place, INL, under the aegis of 
its ongoing forensic development project, will support the visit of 
a contract fingerprint specialist to map a way forward.  The 
specialist will travel to Tbilisi in April to develop tasks, 
timelines, and identify forensic and law enforcement personnel who 
will be the GOG's point of contact for the procurement process, the 
development of SOP's and quality assurance mechanisms, as well as 
training on a new AFIS system. 
 
Forensic Ballistics 
--------------------- 
 
¶4. February 4-13, ATF Advisor Richard Gryzbowski provided joint 
training for forensics ballistics examiners from Georgia's National 
Forensics Bureau (Ministry of Justice), the Ministry of Internal 
Affairs forensics lab, and two firearms examiners from the Armenian 
national forensics laboratory.  The training followed on a previous 
session in Armenia last November, as well a visit to a firearms 
factory in Poland last July.  During this training segment, 
examiners were given a proficiency test designed to be more 
difficult than U.S. firearms examiners routinely take every year to 
maintain professional accreditation.  The NFB examiners passed the 
test with flying colors thanks to the availability of a comparison 
microscope, which INL provided to the lab in September 2007.  The 
MOIA firearms examiners -- without the aid of the modern microscope 
at their lab -- incorrectly identified some of the evidence. This 
turn of events was a troubling indicator for Georgian forensics 
since the MOIA examiners process about 90 percent of bullet and 
cartridge case evidence from criminal cases.  In a subsequent 
meeting with MOIA Lab Director Gena Shainidze, Mr. Gryzbowski noted 
the skill and competence of the examiners and cited outdated 
equipment and poor working conditions as the reason for the MOIA 
examiners' poor marks.  Shainidze noted his intention to purchase a 
comparison microscope for the lab in the near future.  Mr. 
Gryzbowski will conduct his next training session, jointly again 
with the Armenian firearms examiners, in June. 
 
Anti-TIP Training at Ministry of Defense 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) continued to 
implement INL's anti-TIP training and awareness program for Georgian 
military personnel.  During the week of February 20-26, IOM provided 
89 non-commissioned officers and 219 officers with a basic 1.5 hour 
training on Trafficking in Persons at the NCO and Officer training 
academies.  The training session included the following topics: the 
Georgian Ministry of Defense's zero tolerance policy on TIP, the 
internationally recognized definition of TIP, NATO's policy on TIP, 
Georgian Penal Code Provisions on TIP, various forms of TIP, and 
 
reporting mechanisms for soldiers, especially those deployed 
overseas. 
 
¶6. The format of the training was interactive with a 45 minute power 
point presentation, a written testimonial from a Georgian victim, 2 
case studies, and a True/False Quiz at the conclusion of the 
presentation. In each training sessions, soldiers appeared engaged 
and asked many questions, pushing the training session past the 
2-hour mark. Some of the questions asked included: 
 
-- What does a soldier do when they find a victim? 
-- Have there been any cases of soldiers caught trafficking in 
persons? 
-- What is purpose of the training for soldiers? 
-- What is difference between an unfair labor contract and 
trafficking in persons? 
-- When an employer fails to pay wages--is that trafficking? 
And finally ... 
-- Can a soldier shoot a trafficker? 
 
¶7. In January, IOM provided the Ministry of Defense with training 
materials, including material for the 2000 soldiers now serving in 
Iraq (Reftel). In March, IOM and the Ministry of Defense, will train 
instructors at the military academies about human trafficking in 
order to ensure sustained dissemination of anti-TIP information. 
 
First Aid/CPR Training 
---------------------- 
 
¶8. After assessing the inadequate training of Georgian law 
enforcement on First Aid techniques, INL Tbilisi sponsored a 4 day 
"train the trainer" seminar on First Aid at the Ministry of Internal 
Affairs (MOIA) Police Academy February 18-21.  The class was 
attended by 7 future First Aid trainers from the academy staff and 
the Patrol Police.  The chief instructor for the course was Dr. 
Kakhaber Chikhradze, Chief of Emergency Medicine at the Gudaushauri 
National Medical Center in Tbilisi. 
 
¶9. Course content focused on topics most relevant for law 
enforcement officers, including, clearing the airway, CPR, visual 
examination of a victim and establishing the seriousness of an 
injury, triage techniques, shock treatment, use of cervical collars, 
traction splints, vacuum splinting, bandaging techniques, and safe 
secure movement of patients. The students also received a lecture on 
assisting in emergency childbirth cases. 
 
Police Academy: New English Language Center 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶10. On Friday March 7, Ambassador Tefft, together with OSCE 
Ambassador Hakala, MOIA Minister Merabishvili and Deputy Minister 
Zguladze, participated in a ceremonial opening of the new English 
Language Center at the Ministry of Internal Affairs Police Academy. 
The project was jointly funded by INL and the OSCE Mission to 
Georgia. 
INL funded renovation of the classroom space, language lab, library, 
instructor offices and connecting corridors for $47,000.  The OSCE 
provided approximately 20,000 Euros for computer and language lab 
equipment, and reference materials for the library.  INL also 
provided a $14,400 grant to the Police Academy to fund 3 instructor 
salaries for one year.  The instructors, identified for us by ETAG 
(English Language Teacher's Association of Georgia), will develop 
the basic ESP (English for Special Purposes) curriculum and provide 
classroom instruction.  The Academy will pick up the instructor 
salaries in January 2009. 
 
¶11. In response to a proposal by PAS Tbilisi, the Bureau of 
Education and Cultural Affairs (ECA) awarded a grant to bring an 
English Language Specialist to the Police Academy for one month to 
finalize the basic ESP curriculum, oversee its implementation, and 
develop a specialized curriculum on law enforcement-specific 
language.  PAS is covering the per diem and in-country travel 
expenses of the Specialist. 
 
Horse-Mounted Police 
-------------------- 
 
¶12. On February 25, two Georgian horse-mounted police officers began 
a 10-week training course at U.S. Park Police Headquarters in 
Washington, D.C.  The training in police equestrian skills includes 
appropriate techniques for horse-mounted patrolling, with special 
emphasis on community policing concepts, traffic control and 
enforcement, ceremonial events, and crowd management.  The two 
Georgian officers were featured in Washington's local Fox News 
Morning segment March 14. 
 
¶13. Following completion of the course May 5, U.S. Park Police 
instructor Eric Evans will return to Tbilisi to provide a one-month 
training course to the entire mounted unit, emphasizing the main 
 
 
skills taught in the 10-week course.  INL supports the development 
of the mounted unit not only as an effective addition to Georgian 
law enforcement, but also as a vehicle for community outreach.  The 
model of police officer as public servant is a new concept in 
Georgia, and public skepticism of the police remains.  Utilizing 
mounted patrols will allow the police to project their presence in a 
more approachable manner, even as they carry out their law 
enforcement duties. 
 
 
PERRY