Grand opening of ACTA to house new Afghan forensics training program

Photo By Staff Sgt. Terri Barriere | More than 150 onlookers gathered to witness the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Afghan Criminal Techniques Academy and Laboratory in Parwan, Afghanistan, Nov. 29.  

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

11.29.2011

Story by Staff Sgt. Terri Barriere 

NATO Training Mission Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan - More than 150 onlookers gathered to witness the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Afghan Criminal Techniques Academy and Laboratory in Parwan, Afghanistan, Nov.
29.

A first of its kind, the ACTA will develop and sustain Afghan capability to process forensic evidence in accordance with accepted scientific standards and enhance the acceptance of forensic evidence into the Afghan rule of law system, said Army Maj. George Brown, joint/Afghan forensics director assigned to the NATO Rule of Law Field Support Mission – Afghanistan.

Brown said the long-term goal of the effort is to create a reliable and sustainable forensic laboratory system throughout Afghanistan.

To achieve this result, the training is broken down into two programs.

In one program, U.S. instructors will train Afghan National Police students for two months in the disciplines of latent print examination, firearms, tool mark analysis, document media exploitation and forensic photography. After the initial training sessions, the students will then undergo one year of on-the-job training at their own laboratories. At the same time, in the
second program, previously trained Afghans will spend approximately one year as assistant instructors before transitioning to lead instructors at the ACTA and eventually take full ownership of the training program.

Though forensic technology is no foreign concept for the Afghan police, Lt. Gen. Jamil Junbesh, director, Afghanistan Anti-Crime Police, said having the new labs, training and updated technology will further their counter-insurgency and Afghan National Security Forces efforts.

“This technology can help us eliminate criminals we were previously unable to identify,” he said. “The type of crime changes with the times … in the past, there were no electronic and cybercrimes like there are now. These labs will help us defeat crime based on the current situation.”

Brown said the new labs will help remove the veil of anonymity from criminals; the overall goal is to improve the Afghan rule of law system with both reliable and sustainable Afghan forensic capability.

With so much at stake, the prospective students had to be carefully hand-picked to ensure only the highest quality candidates were chosen.

“The students were chosen based on their knowledge, talent and experience,” Junbesh said. “We tried to choose the smartest students working in AACP departments around Afghanistan, and as testament to that we have five students with doctorate degrees in the program. We chose only the best of the best.”

Prospective students were chosen first by their regional commanders before undergoing a telephone screening process and face-to-face interview with the Ministry of Interior.

The entire screening process was Afghan led to ensure they were satisfied with each decision made along the way, said Brown.

The end result was students the instructors and Techniques Academy and Laboratory in Parwan, Afghanistan, leadership could truly be proud of.

Junbesh said there was truly a good working relationship between the students and instructors.

“They worked shonna ba shonna,” he said.

Now that the first ACTA lab is complete, construction and staffing will begin for the other five labs slated to be opened in Kandahar, Nangahar, Khost, Herat and Baath.

• Date Taken: 11.29.2011
• Date Posted: 01.28.2012 05:10
• Story ID: 82975
• Location: KABUL, AF