Dominican Republic students graduate from elite US law enforcement program
Dominican Republic students practicing entry training at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynco, Ga.
GLYNCO, Ga. — A new cohort of police officers and prosecutors from the Dominican Republic is ready to take up the fight against transnational criminal organizations after their graduation Friday from the International Taskforce Agent Training (ITAT) program, hosted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
From Sept. 13 through Sept. 26, 23 Dominican Republic officials participated in the ITAT program, which is held at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Glynco. The majority of students, 17, were Dominican National Police officers. Two students were prosecutors and the remaining four were from the Tourist Police, Border Force, Navy and the Ejercito de la Republica Dominica. Training assistance was also provided by the Dominican Attorney General's Office and the Customs Agency.
Students spent two weeks in classroom seminars and practical exercises as part of the ITAT program, which provides vetted foreign law enforcement officers with training very similar to that of HSI's special agents.
This is the second class of Dominican law enforcement officials to graduate from the program. The first class, comprised of 14 students, graduated in May 2010.
"The ITAT program has proven to be very successful in strengthening partnerships among law enforcement agencies in participating countries," said Alexis Torres, HSI operations chief for Central and South America and the Caribbean. "Transnational criminal organizations respect no nation's boundaries, so it is vitally important for law enforcement agencies to work together across borders to ensure these criminals have no place to hide."
"We have already seen the increased capabilities this training provides to our nation's law enforcement programs," said Major General Manuel Castro Castillo, chief of the National Police for the Dominican Republic. "This new class of graduates will have an immediate impact on our ability to counter the criminal organizations who threaten public safety in our communities."
HSI instructors delivered a tailored curriculum developed to strengthen the students' ability to conduct criminal investigations. Classes covered investigation and interview techniques, evidence processing and warrant execution. The graduates were also exposed to physical training, defensive tactics and weapons practice.
The graduates are now part of an international law enforcement community that facilitates information sharing and the bilateral investigation of transnational criminal organizations involved in a variety of crimes, including weapons and narcotic trafficking, human smuggling and trafficking, money laundering, cybercrimes and more.
FLETC serves as the largest law enforcement training organization in the United States, training a majority of the federal officers and agents in the country. In addition to providing training for more than 90 federal partner organizations, FLETC also provides training to local, state, tribal and international police in select advanced programs. Approximately 70,000 students graduate from FLETC each year.
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