Somalia: ICITAP-Mentored Joint Investigative Team Improves Capacity to Preserve Terrorist Crime Scenes

On July 20, 2021, eleven (11) officers from the ICITAP-mentored Somali Police Force (SPF) Joint Investigative Team (JIT) successfully completed a rigorous two-week training course designed to improve the effectiveness of JIT control and preservation of terrorist crime scenes. The ICITAP-designed and -delivered course included both classroom and extensive field exercises.  The comprehensive curriculum included arrival at the scene, securing the perimeter, evidence location and preservation, handling suspicious persons attempting to enter or approach the scene, Improvised Explosive Device (IED) recognition and action, effective report writing, and other critical skills. One core aspect of the course was to identify and develop JIT officers to serve in a Train-the Trainer role to build expertise and sustainability in the SPF in this critical investigative discipline.  Following remarks by the SPF JIT Commander, the ICITAP Mission Advisor, and the ICITAP mentors, each graduate was awarded a Certificate of Course Completion. In Somalia, ICITAP works with the support of the Department of State Bureau of Counterterrorism and the FBI.