U.S. law enforcement officers participated in a four-day course created by Interpol to help sharpen the skills of Polish officials who fight environmental crime. Almost three dozen Polish police officers, prosecutors, border guards, and environmental regulators took part in the course September 13-16, which was also taught by Canadian, British and Interpol law enforcement officers in Warsaw.
The course taught Polish officers how to identify, investigate, and prosecute environmental crimes, which include intentional water and air pollution, hazardous waste dumping, and bioterrorism.
Instructor Geri Gilbert, special agent from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) noted, "The course is designed not only to teach students how to recognize and investigate environmental crimes, but how to work with other agencies to prosecute those crimes."
Emphasizing that point, U.S. Embassy Political Officer Julie Stufft, who coordinated the U.S. portion of the workshop, said: "One of the most valuable parts of the training is that police officers, regulators and prosecutors work together to solve different case scenarios. In the real world, these agents rarely have a chance to work together. So this course may be the first time that they have collaborated with officials from these other agencies."
Law enforcement agencies throughout Poland will benefit from the “multiplier effect” that the course provides. Students receive all of the audio-visual course presentations in Polish, so that they can teach the course to their colleagues when they return to their districts.
The U.S. State Department funded the training with $45,000 of law-enforcement funds.
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