Working with Our International Law Enforcement Partners to Address Today’s Global Threats

Posted by FLETC Director Connie Patrick

Last month, at the 18th INTERPOL Training Symposium, held November 28-30, in Antalya, Turkey, I had the distinct honor of being named the Chair of the INTERPOL Group of Experts on Police Training (IGEPT), which is comprised of law enforcement training experts from Argentina, Australia, Botswana, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the U.S. INTERPOL is the world’s largest international police organization, with more than 190 member countries.

During the symposium, I spoke about the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center’s (FLETC) Women in Law Enforcement Leadership Training Program, which is helping promote women’s leadership in law enforcement. I was also joined by FLETC Assistant Director Dominick Braccio, FLETC Assistant Director Michael Hanneld, and FLETC Deputy Assistant Director Valerie Atkins, who spoke about law enforcement, ethics, research, and emerging technology for police.

In today’s world, we need to train our local police officers to address not only criminal activity from our communities, but also transnational threats. We also need to equip our law enforcement with technology that enables sharing of critical police information and best practices with foreign counterparts.

Here at FLETC, we recognize the vital role that training plays in maintaining and developing effective law enforcement, both nationally and internationally. This is why I have been engaging our partners at the IGEPT since its inception in 2009, working to standardize and promote training for law enforcement.

For more than 40 years, FLETC has worked to provide those who protect our nation with effective training and state-of-the-art facilities and equipment. Together with INTERPOL and our law enforcement partners around the world, we are working to provide our men and women on the front lines with the tools they need to address the threats we all face.