5400 Federal Plaza
Suite 1500
Hammond, IN 46320

219.937.5500

The United States Attorney's Office sponsors and coordinates numerous law enforcement training events in the Northern District of Indiana over the course of the year. These trainings cover a variety of law enforcement topics and are usually available at no cost to agencies in Northern Indiana. Below is a link to future trainings still available for registration as well as a summary of selected previous training activities in the District.

Financial Crime Investigations

This one-day course will provide an overview of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation Division along with a description of the various Federal financial crimes and the elements needed to prove them. This course took place in South Bend on November 15, 2007.

Gang Investigators District Quarterly Meeting

During this meeting, there will be a brief presentation from the Munster Police Department on coordinating joint response to special events. There will also be another presentation made by the Federal Bureau of Prisons on Security Threat Groups. At the conclusion of the meeting, we will conduct an information sharing session, please bring information/intelligence to share. This meeting took place in Lowell on November 8, 2007.

School Resource Officer Consortium of Indiana Quarterly Meeting

This Consortium Meeting featured a presentation by the Indiana Department of Education. Kylee Bassett discussed Article 7 and ways to address issues relating to “Special Needs” children. Upon completion of the presentation, there was a question and answer period followed by an information exchange between the different agencies. This meeting took place in Porter on November 2, 2007.

Criminal Street Gangs: Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs

This topic will develop an understanding of the origins and methods of operation of the most commonly encountered outlaw motorcycle gangs throughout the country. This understanding will then facilitate the identification, investigation and prosecution of criminal outlaw motorcycle gang members. This course is designed for the uniformed patrol officer or investigator who anticipates working with outlaw motorcycle gangs. The course will acquaint the officer with the history and organization of gangs, legal definitions, gang identifiers (including patches, colors or cuts, symbols, tattoos, jewelry, monikers, etc.), criminal activities, documentation, and officer safety. This course will also include a chronological presentation of major criminal activities by Outlaw Motorcycle Gangsters in the United States over the past few years to the present.  Also included topics are narcotic violations, assaults, extortions, bombings, arsons, murders and more.

Introduction to Intelligence for Law Enforcement

This program is specifically developed to provide attending patrol personnel, intelligence officers, analysts and investigators with a basic understanding of the concepts, processes and disciplines associated with law enforcement intelligence functions and operations. The training uses the "intelligence cycle" from target selection, to data collection, to evaluation, to collation, to analysis, to reporting and dissemination. The use of various tools, techniques, disciplines and methods, both manual and electronic, will be discussed. Several computerized resources for information gathering, data management and research will also be presented and demonstrated.

Interviews and Body Language Techniques

This course addressed techniques for assessing suspects through knowledge of interview techniques, body language and eye patterns. At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to apply successful conversational techniques to detect deception or truthfulness in an individual. This course took place in Fort Wayne on September 6, 2007.

Criminal Street Gangs Identification and Interdiction

This course was designed for the uniformed patrol officer or investigator. This course developed an in-depth understanding of the origins, methods of operation, criminality and drug activity of the most commonly encountered criminal street gangs throughout the country. This understanding will then facilitate the identification and investigation of criminal street gang members. This course is designed to provide a comprehensive working knowledge of criminal street gangs. It took place in South Bend August 27-28, 2007.

Firearms Enforcement Training

Richard Hobson, Retired Washington D.C. Police Lieutenant, who originated and supervised one of the first gun recovery teams in the country was the presenter. The course took place in Fort Wayne August 21-22, 2007.

District Gang/School Resource Officer Workshop

The first day of the workshop featured Bernard James, Professor of Law at Pepperdine University. Dr. James serves as a senior consultant to the U.S. Department of Justice where he recently co-authored Sharing Information: A Guide to FERPA and Participation in Juvenile Justice Programs. He has authored and taught the legal curriculum for the USDOJ COPS in Schools Program. He served for 18 years as Special Counsel to the National School Safety Center, a partnership between the United States Departments of Justice and Education and Pepperdine University.

During the second day of the event, there were presentations on gangs and firearms-related violent crime along with the Project Safe Childhood Initiative. This event was held in Chesterton August 15-16, 2007 and was attended by over sixty law enforcement officers.

Financial Investigative Techniques

This interactive course teaches the principles and techniques of the financial aspect of drug investigations. The course uses case scenarios that will teach the officer how to: conduct financial interviews, identify sources of financial information, utilize indirect methods of proving profitability in illegal enterprises, carry out financial undercover operations, and execute financial search warrants. Officers will be able to determine if money laundering and/or currency violations can assist them in expanding their prosecution base by adding additional targets. Officers will learn to employ techniques parallel to a normal drug investigation to solve open cases and identify future investigations.

Financial Investigative Techniques is a 3-day course. Instruction is broken down into the following blocks: Financial interviewing and recording, sources of financial information, domestic banking, bank secrecy act/commercial reporting forms, financial profile, financial links, financial undercover operations, financial search warrants, and methods of laundering money. This course took place in Fort Wayne June 25 - 27, 2007.

Basic Spanish for Law Enforcement

This intensive 3-day course places emphasis on drug terminology, field interrogations, executing arrests and specialized Spanish vocabulary that indicates impending danger. In addition to Spanish language, a special cross-cultural component addresses the elimination of non-verbal communication barriers that will enhance officer safety and effectiveness when dealing with Spanish speaking persons.

Basic Spanish is a 3-day course. Instruction is broken down into the following blocks: Spanish pronunciation, approaching a vehicle, removing the driver from the vehicle, searching the vehicle, phrases for drug interdiction, information questions, medical emergencies, communication strategies, giving a citation, Miranda warning and waiver, alert words, and danger words. This course took place June 20 - 22nd in West Lafayette.

Informant Development & Management

The proper development, management and control of informants are basic skills that require dedication, ingenuity and proper training. This course examines the most frequently encountered informant issues faced by law enforcement investigators. Key issues relating to using confidential informants, such as informant motivations, informant development, the legal use of informant information, informant control mechanisms, informant veracity and credibility, and principles of influence are emphasized. In addition, the three types of pitfalls that can negate the possible benefits of using confidential informants are thoroughly discussed. The course took place May 30 - June 1st in South Bend.

Criminal Gang Identification & Interdiction

Street gangs are plaguing cities and towns across the United States at a rapid rate. While the crime rate has dropped significantly in most states within the US, gang membership and migration has greatly increased while gangs have spread from urban areas to suburban and rural communities. With the spread of these gangs has come the scourge of crime, violence, drugs, and decrease in quality of life conditions. Officer safety has been significantly affected by gangs and their violence. Officer Safety and Survival issues and legal issues will be discussed. Interdiction and basic investigation methods are taught with an emphasis on the utilization of synergy to fight gangs. This course is especially useful to members of all types of law enforcement agencies and will significantly increase the efficiency of small agencies and agencies with little or no resources available.

Criminal Street Gangs is a three day course. Instruction is broken down into the following blocks: an illustration of gang history, current gang trends, gang identification, national gang influences (Midwest, East Coast, West Coast, Gulf Coast, People/Folk) and special gang threats (Ethnic Gangs, Prison Gangs, Outlaw Biker Gangs, etc.) affecting communities across the U.S. today, an analysis of gang influences, music, motivations, criminal activities, psychological and sociological factors, and migration contributors. This course took place in Fort Wayne from May 7-9, 2007.

Seized Computer and Evidence Recovery

This 4-day course is designed for anti-drug state or local investigators/prosecutors and investigative support personnel actively involved in investigations. The course will provide participants with the ability to securely seize and retrieve computer evidence pursuant to search warrants as well as testify about procedures used. The topical curriculum for the course will address the hands on ability to seize, preserve and present evidence obtained from computer systems pursuant of search warrants in a legally sufficient manner.

Seized Computers is a 4-day course. Instruction is broken down into the following blocks: Role of the forensic investigator, first responder standards, search warrant issues, legal concerns, seizure concepts, boot process/hash values, safety net concept, chain of custody issues-digital evidence, retrieving digital evidence, handling digital evidence, control boot disks, imaging software, forensic analysis using 'ILOOK' software, documentation, and suggested hardware configuration for field usage with 'ILOOK' software.

The course was held in South Bend from April 30th through May 3rd, 2007.

5th Annual "Keeping Our Communities Safe" Conference

On April 17-19, 2007, the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Indiana and the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute conducted the Fifth Annual “Keeping Our Community Safe” Conference. The two and one-half day conference was hosted by the South Bend Police Department, the St. Joseph County Sheriff’s Department and the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office in partnership with the Middle Great Lakes Organized Crime Law Enforcement Network (MAGLOCLEN). The conference took place at the Century Center in South Bend, Indiana.

The topics presented during the conference were: Stress/Vicarious Victimization; U.S. Secret Service's Wireless Tracking Unit; Shattered: Reclaiming a Life Torn Apart by Violence; Indiana National Guard's 53rd Civil Support Team; E-bay and PayPal Fraud; PSN/Violent Crime and Officer Safety; PSN/Gangs and Violent Crime; Adam Walsh Act; Internet Safety and Project Safe Childhood. On April 18, 2007, there was a law enforcement awards luncheon with U.S. Attorney Joseph Van Bokkelen as the presenter.

The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute paid the registration fee of $75 for all Indiana State and Local law enforcement officers who attended the conference. Additionally, all Indiana State and Local law enforcement officers who qualified as non-commuters, those traveling more than 50 miles one-way or 100 miles round-trip, qualified to have their hotel rooms at the South Bend Marriott paid for by the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute.

This year’s conference was a huge success with over 130 law enforcement officials attending from 44 different agencies throughout the State of Indiana. The conference was planned and coordinated by U.S. Attorney’s Office through Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee, Victim/Witness and the Anti-Terrorism Advisory Council.

Interview and Body Language Techniques

This course will address techniques for assessing suspects through knowledge of interview techniques, body language and eye patterns. At the conclusion of this course, the student will be able to apply successful conversational techniques to detect deception or truthfulness in an individual. The course objectives were to: Identify interview techniques to maximize officer safety, develop a basic understanding of non-verbal communication, identify the difference between an interview and interrogation, identify rapidly changing legal circumstances during roadside interviews, identify the 5 phases of the interview process, identify elements of active listening, identify common interviewing mistakes, describe strategies to set up a controlled environment, and practice conversational interview techniques.

This course took place in South Bend on April 3, 2007. It will also be available in Fort Wayne on September 6, 2007. Please see the upcoming training page for more information.

District Gang Conference

On March 14-15, 2007, the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Indiana conducted the 2007 District Gang Conference. The two day conference was hosted by the the Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s Department, in partnership with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Middle Great Lakes Organized Crime Law Enforcement Network (MAGLOCLEN). The conference took place at the University Inn Conference Center in West Lafayette, Indiana.

The topics presented during the conference were: Gang Intelligence and Information Sharing; Sacramento County, California Gang Investigations; Chicago Gangs and their influence on Northern Indiana; Managing Gangs in Schools and Federal Gang Prosecutions. On March 15, 2007, Patricia Borrelli, Executive Director of MAGLOCLEN, was the luncheon keynote speaker.

The conference was a success with over 100 law enforcement officials attending from throughout the State of Indiana. The conference was planned and coordinated by U.S. Attorney’s Office through Project Safe Neighborhoods and the Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Department.

Crime Scene Investigation & Evidence Technician Training

This advanced course, which took place from March 12-16, 2007, instructed investigators and evidence technicians on how to preserve crime scene and document evidence through sketching, photographing, videography, notes, etc. It showed officers how to recognize and collect evidence utilizing casting materials, gelatin lifters, etc. The course also focused on locating and preserving gun-related evidence. Individuals who attended this course were involved in many hands-on activities. Twenty-six students from eleven different agencies attended this full course that took place in Highland, Indiana.

Firearms Enforcement Training

The goals of this one day Firearms Enforcement and Officer Safety training are to increase the margin of safety for police officers and to provide officers with the skills and abilities needed to recognize armed offenders involved in gang, gun and drug activities. The course was instructed by Richard Hobson, retired Washington D.C. Police Lieutenant, who originated and supervised one of the first gun recovery teams in the country and Special Agent David Coulson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. This course took place in South Bend, Indiana from December 13-14, 2006.