Homeland Homework

Sep 9, 2003 12:00 PM, Jeffrey A. Dingle

           

Training school in South Georgia prepares law enforcement professionals to serve on the front lines of Homeland security

It’s a room filled to the brim with the latest security devices and technologies. There are working cameras and access control equipment to tinker with. There is functioning intrusion detection technology and a visitor screening center complete with X-ray machines and walk-through metal detectors just outside the door. And outside of that lobby lies a multitude of different fencing styles to examine. Sounds like a security user’s paradise, but this Mecca of security in south Georgia is reserved for students of federal government security.

Who Trains the Government?

The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) is the primary law enforcement training academy for federal law enforcement in the United States. FLETC serves as an interagency law enforcement training organization for more than 75 federal agencies with personnel located throughout the U.S. and its territories. FLETC also provides services to state, local, and international law enforcement agencies and, on a space-available basis, other federal agencies with related law enforcement missions. Through its history, the school has been a part of the Department of Treasury, but it recently became a part of the Department of Homeland Security.

FLETC is located in Glynco, Ga. — halfway between Savannah and Jacksonville, Fla. In addition to Glynco, FLETC operates smaller facilities in Artesia, N.M., and Charleston, S.C. Each of these facilities is designed primarily for residential training operations. A fourth training facility is under development in Cheltenham, Md., and will be used principally for in-service and re-qualification training for officers and agents in the Washington, D.C., area.

FLETC offers several basic law enforcement training programs of varying lengths. In addition, the center conducts and supports numerous advanced and specialized training programs. It also offers selected specialized training programs for state, local and foreign law enforcement personnel, through the Office of State and Local Training and the International Programs Division. These offerings are designed to meet training needs not generally available to these agencies and to enhance networking and cooperation throughout the law enforcement community, domestically as well as worldwide.

School officials contend: “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 necessary to meet the demanding challenges of a federal law enforcement career. Personnel learn the responsibilities of a law enforcement officer, and, 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.”

Although primarily a law enforcement training facility, there is an ongoing effort to train the discipline of physical security. Started in 1988 as a “backbone program” to bring quality physical security training as the basis of a strong anti-terrorism program, the Advanced Physical Security Training Program (APSTP) became open to federal students. The program, now known as the Physical Security Training Program (PSTP) is an 80-hour class covering all aspects of security operations. The PSTP is designed to provide an in-depth knowledge of physical security systems and procedures by using the survey process as the common thread in teaching this program. The PSTP includes conceptual security considerations, vulnerabilities assessments, and familiarization with hardware and procedures. The classrooms are located in a building specifically designed for anti-terrorism/physical security training. The facility is used both as a classroom and working laboratory, providing a “hands-on” training environment.

The training covers a wide and varied course of instruction. The basics of security are discussed, along with topics like security design. Hardware classes include access control, intrusion detection, perimeter security and closed circuit television (CCTV) systems. A protective lighting class includes classroom time and a night-time lighting lab. A class covering locks and locking devices is taught by a certified locksmith, with instructions on master keying and how to select a lock for a specific application. Weaknesses of locks are demonstrated with instruction on how to pick a lock.

All of the hardware classes are supported by working equipment in the classrooms. Working cameras, access control equipment and intrusion detection equipment fill the inside of the classrooms, while examples of different kinds of fencing are built around the training building. A “climb proof” fence stands next to the parking lot. A working hydraulic anti-vehicle barrier is on site as well. The lobby of the training building is designed to resemble the lobby of a federal building, and includes a working full screening set-up with an X-ray machine and a walk through metal detector.

A class teaches the process of conducting a security survey, and the class finishes with a “hands on” practical exercise involving conducting an actual security survey of buildings and sites at FLETC, followed by a formal presentation of the survey results by each of the survey groups.

Instructors for the PSTP are a varied mix of security professionals. Barbara Kochanski is the senior physical security instructor for FLETC and the program coordinator for the PSTP. She is a former security specialist with the General Services Administration (GSA), and the class manager. Other instructors include staff FLETC instructors is the areas of bombs and explosives and other specialty areas. Well known security instructors such as Branch Walton, Joe Kochanski and Herb Smith, are often guests.

Branch Walton is a retired Secret Service agent, a former director of security for Cummings engines and a recognized expert in workplace violence issues, and Herb Smith is a U.S. Marshal specializing in security technology. Joe Kochanski is retired from the GSA and is formerly the national training manager for all of the Federal Protective Service. He is also a former PSTP coordinator.

The PSTP is open to federal, state and local law enforcement officers, investigators, and physical security specialists as well as the military and other U.S. government agencies having physical security planning responsibilities. The PSTP has been offered to friendly foreign governments, and has been taught, in its entirety, with simultaneous translation to governments including Uganda. The PSTP generally runs eight or 10 times a year, and is always full.

Another Training Institute

FLETC is not the only organization providing training for the federal government. Kentucky-based Lockmasters Security Institute (LSI) does its share of training government security professionals also. Lockmasters was established in 1955, in Rochester, N.Y., and offered correspondence courses in lock manipulation and safe lock servicing. These proved so successful that a “hands-on” residence school was created. In 1983, Lockmasters expanded the base of operations to include security-related sales through a tool and equipment division. In recent years, LSI has served as the education division of the company.

According to Tom Woodall, director of LSI, “In response to the changes facing the security industry and the world at large, Lockmasters Security Institute provides security management education including comprehensive security specialist training, U.S. Coast Guard command security officer training, physical security, security surveys, hardware evaluation and other courses.”

Woodall is formerly the regional director for law enforcement for the General Services Administration, Federal Protective Service.

Lockmasters provides a quality security training course for federal security specialists. This 10-day course is designed to provide the security professional with training in all areas of security, including physical security, crime prevention, security surveys, and contingency planning for internal and external threats. This course also addresses current trends in policies and procedures. In addition, the instructors display and demonstrate the latest security equipment, such as CCTV, access control systems, lighting and locking devices, to help the student decide which system best fits the needs of each facility. The course is designed to train a student to be equipped to function as a security specialist for the federal government or private sector. The class teaches how to develop a comprehensive security program for the workplace and be able to present the findings to management in a non-threatening, understandable format.

The class is attended by security managers, law enforcement and crime prevention specialists, physical security and federal contract employees with security responsibilities. The class specifically teaches students to identify the basic practices and concepts involved in physical security operations and to identify concepts of basic security design and security surveys. Design and application of perimeter protection, intrusion detection and CCTV systems are the basis of equipment training, while the basics of identifying risks and vulnerabilities to facilities and operations and preparing contingency plans for man-made and natural disasters are discussed.

The class stresses the ability to make valid cost-effective countermeasure recommendations based on a modern risk management process, including conducting security inspections and surveys using current procedures to prepare appropriate security plans, specifically including workplace violence plans. The course even covers the “nuts and bolts” of using presentation technology, such as Power Point and digital photography to enhance management reporting. Lockmasters students include an ongoing contract to provide training for Command Security Officers in the U.S. Coast Guard and other military students. Lockmasters is the only company in the private sector providing the Department of Defense (DoD) and government security personnel with the necessary training enabling them to create a comprehensive Force Protection Plan. Lockmasters is the only private company certified to do DoD Level 2 Force Protection training. The U.S. Navy and the U.S. Post Office are frequent students as well.

Force protection training includes methods for determining vulnerabilities by using a computerized Risk Assessment Matrix (RAM) that is provided to each student. The student studies the formula for risk management, and applies the learned knowledge to select the correct and appropriate use of color and black-and-white cameras, lighting, access control and CCTV. Planning classes include theory of physical security, security design, bomb threat management, contingency planning, vulnerability analysis, random anti-terrorism measures and a Level 1 force protection briefing.

Facilities and training materials contribute to the quality training product. In 1997, Lockmasters opened its new 11,000-square-foot state-of-the-art education center. Due to growth, ground was recently broken on a building expansion to double the size of the facility. Training materials are detailed, current and focus on information which will ensure effectiveness on the job. Lockmasters instructors are security experts with backgrounds in government, private industry and law enforcement, many of whom are former FLETC instructors. LSI is accredited by the Council of Occupational Education, and is a part of the Central Kentucky Technical College. College credit is available for training.

Lockmasters can be reached at 800-654-0637.

As Tony Blair reminds us “…our fight against terrorism will never end,” we must provide quality training to the people guarding our nation so that our fight against terrorism remains effective.

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