CAMP VICTORY, IRAQ – A Police Transition Team from the 64th Military Police Company, deployed from Fort Hood, Texas, have been working with the Iraqi Police in Hurriyah for 12 months now.

Staff Sgt. Joesph Reinsburrow is the lead Soldier, that ensures that security and resources are present in the Hurriyah neighborhood.

For those 12 months Reinsburrow, a native of Towanda, Pa., has seen the IP force and people of Hurriyah go from citizens once torn by sectarian violence to a people that want more IP providing protection and rule of law in the Baghdad neighborhood.

In the winter months of 2007 Reinsburrow and his squad of military Police Transition Team Soldiers were tasked to oversee the production of an expedient IP station built in Hurriyah.

“The need for a patrol station in Hurriyah has always been there,” said Reinsburrow. “Hurriyah has been pretty violent place.”

The need for a new station comes from the fact that Hurriyah, one of the largest areas in the Iraqi capital, had only one local station with 180 IP to cover the area, said Reinsburrow.

“It is such a huge area in Baghdad for such a small number of IP,” said Reinsburrow.

Once the need for an IP station is determined it was up to the Neighborhood Advisory Councils partnered with the IP and Coalition Forces to determine the best place for the new station to be placed.

“Between the CF’s Brigade Combat Teams, PTT and IP they determine where they want to put a station to increase security in a certain area,” said Sgt. 1st Class Brian Leary, 18th MP Bde., PTT operations noncommissioned officer, and native of Blue Springs, Mo.

Once the location of the station was decided the Iraqi government decided on a contractor to start the construction process.

When the contractor was first approached about building an IP station in the predominately Shia area he refused, said Reinsburrow, stating that the contractor feared to go into the area and work.

The PTT promised the contractor that the IP and CF would provide the necessary security to see that the builders can complete the station without being harmed.

The contractor agreed and the production of the station began without incident.

After several months of construction, Hurriyah welcomed a new IP station July 16 to its already growing force in the opening of Hurriyah Patrol Station.

“The new patrol station will now allow the local police to concentrate more on community policing,” said Reinsburrow. “While allowing the patrol police to concentrate on providing overall security by patrolling and conducting checkpoints in Hurriyah.”

The new police station is part of Multi-National Division – Baghdad’s larger plan to expand the IP force.

The increase in police force is intended to strengthen the overall security of Baghdad and is aimed at training more than 25,000 IP recruits by 2008 while integrating the IP into the overall Iraqi Security Forces.

Officials say more than 22,000 police have already been on the job in the Iraqi capital as part of the first phase of expansion.

As part of the IP expansion program, the IP need to have a location to work from; the Hurriyah station was the twenty-first station since November 2007 that the 18th Military Police Brigade PTT have helped establish in Baghdad.

“When there is heightened violence and militia in a certain area, there becomes a need for more IP in the area,” said Leary.

“Iraqi community councils feel more comfortable with having IP closer to them,” said Leary. “So community leaders request new stations in their area.”

In Hurriyah this was exactly the case, the Neighborhood Advisory Council felt the need for a new IP station and they picked a spot where they thought it would be best located, said Reinsburrow.

“We feared some people would find out we were building an IP station there and they wouldn’t like the idea,” said Reinsburrow.

Reinsburrow recalled during the construction phase when the contractor said, to him, he was surprised at how safe the area was to work in; after the building was complete.

“In the last three to four months security has really improved in Hurriyah,” said Reinsburrow.

“For the most part the IP are doing their jobs,” said Reinsburrow. “They are doing their jobs and they are getting better at doing it. They are more professional and in the last 12 months, they have been through quite a lot with the attacks in March during the criminal uprisings in Baghdad and the truck bomb that killed more than 60 people a month ago in Hurriyah.”

Reinsburrow mentioned that during all these attacks the IP remained at their posts providing security for the citizens of Hurriyah.

“The truck bomb a month ago, opened up the IP eyes knowing that the vehicle probably came through one of their checkpoints,” said Reinsburrow.

Although this event was a minor setback IP continue to perform their duties to prevent future setbacks, with the threat of violence returning to Hurriyah and the increase in the IP force the situation can only get better, said Leary

“Reports are always positive of new police stations have helped detour violence in areas where they are established,” said Leary. “It is always better when a station is put up in an area where it is wanted and needed.”

The new station in Hurriyah will be manned by all new IP who are fresh out of basic recruit training and on the job training at a neighboring community’s station.

“The IP are very inexperienced, but they are asking for more training and they are willing to do the training, which is a step in the right direction,” said Reinsburrow.

He has seen improvement in the self reliance of the IP in Hurriyah.

“Twelve months ago IP did not do a lot on their own,” said Reinsburrow. “Now the Hurriyah local IP Station runs pretty well on its own. We are hoping the patrol station will be the same way.”

Reinsburrow believes that IP expansion is working in Baghdad and soon the IP will provide enough security themselves that CF will no longer be needed except to provide over watch.

“As long as they are hiring IP that want to go out there and do their job and not just hang out and collect a pay check and are able to get out there and do their jobs I think the situation will continue to improve in Hurriyah,” said Reinsburrow. “A lot of areas in the city need more police and a lot of people are happy there are more police in the area or they have the idea that more IP are coming into the area will continue to improve the security problems.”