Posted on 11/26/2009 10:15:53 AM PST by SandRat
COS MAREZ — When members of the 401st Civil Affairs Battalion (CAB) first began assessing the Zanjili neighborhood in Mosul, the area, a long-time insurgent stronghold, was anything but secure.
Months later, the CAB team, escorted by Iraqi Federal Police (FP), walked the neighborhood market place, interacting with residents and shopkeepers during a joint project oversight patrol.
Zanjili, one of the largest neighborhoods in western Mosul with about 30,000 residents, is steadily improving under the watchful eye of the FP battalion responsible for security in the area.
According to 1st Lt. Glen Taylor, a team leader with Co. D., 401st CAB, from Buffalo, N.Y., security improvements have provided economic growth and beautification of the neighborhood and residents are increasingly confident in the FP's ability to take care of them.
"The Federal Police here understand you can win people over more with a kind word than by kicking doors in,” Taylor said. “It's also one of the few places in the city where the police act like the police as we know them in the U.S., instead of like Soldiers.”
Many of the FP were former Iraqi Army members, and Taylor believes the Zanjili FP commander's understanding of the police role has contributed significantly to the increased stability of Zanjili.
Gaining the trust of local residents has been a long process. The FP commander ensures direct access for residents to call him if they feel one of his police officers has mistreated them or done something wrong. The FP has also taken an active role in cleaning up the neighborhood. Their presence is reassuring to locals who now know the police are concerned for the neighborhood's safety and prosperity.
"The FP in Zanjili don't just do police work," Taylor said. "They take part in small scale reconstruction, painting curbs, planting flowers, clearing rubble. The area looks a lot better than it did several months ago."
With the strong FP presence in Zanjili and police officers providing more than security to the area, residents, weary and mistrustful at first, are showing confidence in the FP's ability to do its job. The CAB team and the MRC will continue monitoring the area, recommending and aiding projects to improve the quality of life for Zanjili residents.
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