RAMALLAH, June 22, 2011 (WAFA) – A contingent of the Special Police Forces (SPF) Wednesday performed a selection of exercises and drills in front of the French General Consul in Jerusalem, H.E. Frederic Desagneaux, and of the Chief of Police, Mj. Gen. Hazem Attallah at the compound of the Protection and Guarding Units (PGUs), in Ramallah, according to EUPOL COPPS Press Release.

The release said, that the drills belong to an undergoing three-weeks training for the SPF’s senior trainers and training assistants which is being currently implemented by two instructors from the Compagnies Républicaines de Sécurité (CRS), which are the anti-riot and crowd-control units of the French National Police.

It added that the participants organized in thematic modules are being trained by the two French instructors in all fields of expertise which are relevant for the SPF: public order, defensive tactics, police side-handle baton, communication skills, police ethics and physical training.

In this occasion, the use of non-violent tactics for crowd control, the proportional use of force and the respect for civil and human rights are being emphasized, the release said.

It said that at the end of the exercises the Chief of Police, Mj. Gen. Attallah, mentioned that “The idea of this training is to reach international standards, which shall guarantee the dignity of people and the respect for human rights. Some parts of the drill show how professional the members of the SPF have become.”

SPF -Palestinian Civil Police’s branch for crowd control- is significantly increasing its training capacity and preparing a new generation of trainers to provide best practices to all units. This has been already done with the Traffic Police Department and soon will be implemented in cooperation with other units, such as the PGUs and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), it said.

M.H./F.R.