Federal Law Enforcement Training Center

The Center is headquartered at Glynco, Georgia, near the port city of Brunswick, halfway between Savannah, Georgia, and Jacksonville, Florida. In addition to Glynco, the FLETC operates two other residential training sites in Artesia, New Mexico, and Charleston, South Carolina. The FLETC also operates an in-service re-qualification training facility in Cheltenham, Maryland, for use by agencies with large concentrations of personnel in the Washington, D.C, area. The FLETC has oversight and program management responsibility for the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) in Gaborone, Botswana, and supports training at other ILEAs in Hungary and Thailand.

Export training and technology-based distributed learning are increasingly important methods of training delivery. These methods are used when the programs being taught do not require specialized facilities and/or when a geographical concentration of personnel can be identified. Additionally, the FLETC seeks and develops alternative training technologies, especially simulation and modeling to augment existing training delivery systems and methodologies.

Many of the FLETC's 81 Partner Organizations have transferred portions or all of their law enforcement training operations to one of the FLETC's permanent sites to coordinate the activities of their personnel and to conduct advanced and agency-specific programs.

Consolidation of law enforcement training permits the Federal Government to emphasize training excellence and cost-effectiveness. Professional instruction and practical application provide students with the skills and knowledge to meet the demanding challenges of a Federal law enforcement career. They learn not only the responsibilities of a law enforcement officer, but through interaction with students from many other agencies, they also become acquainted with the missions and duties of their colleagues. This interaction provides the foundation for a more cooperative Federal law enforcement effort.

The Center's parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), supervises its administrative and financial activities. The FLETC Director serves under the authority of the Under Secretary for Border and Transportation Security. The Director is assisted with operational oversight and execution in the management of the Center by an executive team with unmatched breadth and depth of experience in training and administration.

Also, as an interagency training organization, the FLETC has assembled the finest professionals from diverse backgrounds to serve on its faculty and staff. Approximately one-third of the instructor staff are permanent FLETC employees. The remainder are Federal officers and investigators on short-term assignment from their parent organizations or recently retired from the field. This mix of permanent, detailed, and recently retired staff provides a balance of experience and fresh insight from the field.

Partner Organizations have input regarding training issues and functional aspects of the Center. Agencies take part in curriculum review and development conferences and help develop policies and directives. This relationship is characteristic of a "true partnership", responsive to the training mission.

Since its inception in 1970, the FLETC has invested heavily in renovation, expansion, acquisition, and new construction to meet the ever increasing training needs of its Partner Organizations. This effort gained considerable momentum following a series of Congressional mandates in the 1990's. Impetus was again added following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

External links