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“USARAF: CoESPU providing training to police-contributing countries”
By Capt. USA Olivia COBISKEY

14\29 August, 2018. GAKO (Rwanda):

“Helping the military-contributing nations understand the unique skills police peacekeepers
provide during United Nation missions is paramount”, said Lt. Col. Alessandro Criscitiello, a
commander in the training department of the Center of Excellence for Stability Police
Units (CoESPU), in Vicenza, Italy.
“And if we are referring to the police component, exactly the opposite,” continued Criscitiello,
who has been the police advisor for
eight U.S. Army Africa exercises,
“They need to understand the other’s
needs in terms of plans and
operations, involve the other
component in their procedures, and
exploit their specific capabilities. The
stabilization process can be
considered a time frame where the
military component is handing over
operations to the police component,
who will be the lead during peace and
stabilization operations.”
Police as peacekeepers is not a new concept, Criscitiello said. During peacekeeping operations
police provide unique skills to bridge the ‘security gap’ identified during operations in Bosnia
and Herzegovina in 1997. At first the gap was bridged by military units, created by the
Carabinieri, Italy's national police force, and capable of performing some of the typical tasks of a
civilian police force called NATO Multinational Specialized Unit (MSU). However, eventually
the concept of military forces performing police duties evolved into the current concept of
stability policing by police units trained at CoESPU, created by Carabinieri in March 2005 as
part of an agreement between the Italian government and the G-8 nations.
“So, we were there in the beginning and we are still at it,” said Criscitiello, who has been on
missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea
(UNMEE).
During the stabilization process is when the police contributing countries peacekeeping work
truly begins. The Carabinieri help police peacekeepers bridge the gap between the military phase
of intervention and the next phase which includes the re-establishment of civilian and democratic
life, provide an essential security framework for the reconstruction of local institutions, and help
integrate other national or international military and police forces who are providing security and
counterterrorism operations on the ground, Criscitiello said.

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