I have invited members of the PRT to use my blog to talk about their work and experiences in Helmand. Shelley Groves the PRT’s new Female Police Advisor has kindly written about her first police training course.
On arriving in Lashkar Gah to take on my role as the PRT’s new Female Police Advisor, my first task was to help deliver a sustainment training package to the female Afghan Uniform Police (AUP) based at the District Police Headquarters in Gereshk. The course was four days long and was delivered by myself, PS Kerrie McGlinchey, Lt Jess French and Private Ren Day.
As the course took place during Ramadan it was decided that we would run the course in the mornings, with the lessons being short and interesting to maximise the learning potential of the women.
On day one we were all introduced to the female AUP and went straight into a lesson on values and ethics. The women were keen to learn and had retained a lot of information from their initial police training. Throughout the morning the women remained focused and willing to learn as we taught them other subjects such as crime scene management and police safety and survival.
As the course went on some of the lessons became more practical and with the women fasting we were concerned that they might not want to get involved in the practical side of things. We taught the women handcuffing techniques, handling prisoners, first aid and a favourite of mine was empty hand techniques, we did not need to worry about the women’s energy levels as they got stuck in and enjoyed the practical aspects of the lesson. I never thought I would see a female AUP officer doing a flying kick, but that is what we achieved on our final day!
Throughout the week it was great to see the women’s confidence levels build and that they had all enjoyed the course. It was also an eye opener for me and it was a great way for me to start my new job role out here by meeting these six brave women and helping them learn and improve on their policing skills.