The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in partnership with the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs, on April 22 concluded a five-day Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar focusing on counterterrorism, crisis response and megacity policing. The exchange took place in Los Angeles, California, at the facilities of the FBI, Los Angeles Police Department, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
“¦after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks FBI agents worked extensively with their counterparts in the Indian police and intelligence agencies. No red tape, no turf battles ““ just investigators standing shoulder-to-shoulder in cooperation at a time of crisis.
After the seminar concluded, U.S. Ambassador to India Timothy J. Roemer shared his thoughts regarding the benefits of police partnerships: “All Indians and Americans alike – from police officers to the average citizen – benefit when our law enforcement officials work together in this way to bring to justice terrorists and criminals who target innocent civilians. For example, after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks FBI agents worked extensively with their counterparts in the Indian police and intelligence agencies. No red tape, no turf battles – just investigators standing shoulder-to-shoulder in cooperation at a time of crisis. Teams of forensic specialists pulled fingerprints from improvised explosive devices. Damaged GPS devices were wired back together by FBI engineers to obtain valuable data. Agents from both countries testified in the trial of Ajmal Kasab in order to bring him to justice.” This is a great example of the global partnership on counterterrorism and fighting extremism.
Assistant Director-in-Charge Steven M. Martinez remarked, “Today’s global security threats require the fusing of international capabilities to counter existing and emerging threats. Through international exchanges, such as this week’s U.S.-India Counterterrorism Seminar, we establish first-name relationships with our international police and intelligence partners. And in a time of crisis, that friendship fosters an immediate and effective response.”
Thirty-nine senior police executives from fourteen central and fifteen state agencies across India were invited by the Ministry of Home Affairs to participate in the exchange. Among the practical exercises and topics discussed were:
- Crisis management and response
- Evidence recovery and processing
- Post-blast investigation and evidence recovery
- Orange County Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory (an overview of a forensics lab performing all aspects of digital evidence recovery, collection, and analysis)
- Megacity policing overviews provided by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The City of Los Angeles was selected as the focal point for this seminar because of the international scope of policing and security issues it faces and the infrastructure and partnerships it has established to confront these challenges. Los Angeles shares many of the same policing and security challenges as India’s megacities, such as organized crime, large economic offenses, mass transit policing, maritime security, and special event security planning.
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