International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program Launched in Algeria

January 30, 2011

ICITAP Launched in Algeria ( U.S. Embassy Photo)

Following the signing of the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and Algerian Justice Minister Tayeb Belaiz in Algiers on April 7, 2010 and within the framework of strengthening U.S.-Algerian security cooperation,  the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice organized from Jan. 30 through Feb. 2011 a training workshop on the ISO 17025 standard (General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories) for 24 employees of the National Institute of Forensic Science and Criminology of Algerian Gendarmerie. The training was conducted by the Algerian-American expert Dr. Soraya McClung, who is serving as director West Virginia State Police Forensic Laboratory. Dr. McClung will conduct at least four other workshops during the current year.

This workshop is part of the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program (ICITAP). The first ICITAP project in Algeria focuses on forensic investigations and border security. The project was launched in November 2010 by the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the Department of State. The program ICITAP Algeria is managed by the DOJ Senior Law Enforcement Attaché Gary A. Bennett. The position of Senior Law Enforcement Attaché, which was newly created at the embassy, is another sign of the U.S. government’s determination to broaden and reinforce its security partnership with Algeria. Mr. Bennett is assisted in this three-year project by Dr. Rebecca Bucht who serves as resident adviser at the National Institute of Forensic Science and Criminology of Algerian Gendarmerie since January 2011.

The ICITAP agency helps foreign governments develop transparent law enforcement institutions that protect human rights. The ICITAP agency has launched projects in 39 countries worldwide. These projects address several security aspects including the fight against transnational organized crime, criminal investigations, community policing, information systems, instructor development, public integrity and anti-corruption, criminal justice coordination, and marine and border security.
 
The ICITAP agency was created by the Department of Justice in 1986 in response to a request from the Department of State for training assistance to law enforcement institutions in Latin America. Since then, ICITAP’s activities have grown to encompass three principal types of assistance projects: (1) enhancing the capacities of law enforcement institutions in emerging democracies and developing countries, (2) developing law enforcement institutions in the context of post-conflict-reconstruction or international peacekeeping operations, and (3) assisting allies in fighting transnational organized crime. This assistance is based on internationally recognized principles of human rights, legality, and modern police practices. ICITAP programs are funded by the Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Department of Defense, and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).