ABERDEEN, SD – The Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers (FLETC) joined the Department of Homeland Security Blue Campaign, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Department of Justice, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to deliver two identical one-day human trafficking awareness workshops to Indian Country law enforcement in Aberdeen, South Dakota, Sept. 16-17.
Sponsored by BIA, law enforcement from South Dakota, North Dakota and Nebraska learned about the signs of human trafficking and proper responses. FLETC Instructor Hector Bencomo educated the class about common indicators and explained proper reporting protocols, often citing examples from his extensive career as an HSI Special Agent.
(From left to right: Anthony Acocella, Senior Legislative Affairs Advisor, Darren Cruzan, Assistant Director, National Capital Region, Hector Bencomo, FLETC Lead Instructor, Karsten Anderson, HSI Special Agent (Bismarck, ND), Jeff Clapper, Assistant United States Attorney, DOJ, Kaitlin Seale, Program Manager, DHS Blue Campaign, Lon Zianoski, HSI Special Agent, Human Trafficking National Program Manager) (Courtesy Photo)
FLETC has received a great deal of interest from Congress about this initiative. Attending the Aberdeen trainings were staff from the offices of Sen. John Thune (SD), Sen. Kevin Cramer (ND), Sen. Mike Rounds (SD), and Rep. Dusty Johnson (SD).
This week, FLETC will hold a pilot of its Human Trafficking Awareness Training Program at its headquarters in Glynco, Georgia. Once finalized, this one-day class will be available to federal, state, local, tribal, and campus law enforcement nationwide.
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Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers
Protocol & Communications Office
Contact: 912-267-2447