February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Andrew Bushe
DUBLIN — About 50 policemen from north and south of the border are to undergo training with the FBI in Washington, D.C., later this month.
The scheme is a joint initiative by the Director of the FBI, Garda Commissioner Pat Byrne and Chief Constable of the RUC Ronnie Flanagan.
Both Byrne and Flanagan are ex-graduates of the FBI headquarters’ college in Quantico, Va., outside Washington.
The course is being hosted and funded by the U.S. Department of Justice.
"The purpose is to develop and integrate the approach and quality of policing in all of Ireland," according to Assistant Commissioner Eamon Keating, who is the coordinator for the Gardai.
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The two-week training program will involve sergeants, inspectors and superintendents.
Keating said there was a need for ongoing cooperation between the two forces in dealing with subversives, drug problems, planning for major emergencies and traffic management.
He said both forces had previously been jointly involved in training programs organized by the EU.
The major themes of the Washington course will involve how to deal with change and the interaction of police and the community they serve.