CUSTOMIZED ANALYST & INVESTIGATOR'S SHOEBOX WORKSHOPS FOR THE PUERTO RICO POLICE DEPARTMENT

In the spring of 2005, 100 SWAT and Bomb Squad members of the Puerto Rico Police Department attended a one week session of CRA’s SHOEBOX^TM Workshop, resulting in an enhanced awareness of al-Qaeda Modus.Operandi, terrorist tradecraft, and investigative techniques.

 

The first day of the Workshop was devoted to intensive briefings on the origins, motives, operational history, and terrorist tradecraft of the al-Qaeda organization and its worldwide associates. CRA's instructor covered the M.O. of al-Qaeda cell members who have infiltrated into the U.S. and are scouting targets in preparation of an attack.

 

Under the instruction of CRA’s investigations Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), the PRPD SWAT and Bomb Squad officers spent the next four days immersed in the SHOEBOX Workshop scenario that had them examine 13 pieces of evidence obtained on members of an al-Qaeda cell. The PRPD officers were coached by expert criminal investigators to use special techniques to reveal the significance of each piece of evidence (e.g., pre-paid phone cards, pre-paid phones, a cell phone chip, a computer jump drive).

 

During breakout sessions the PRPD members, split into teams, exercised the knowledge they had gained by ferreting information from the evidence and making plans for the next steps in locating and neutralizing the fictional al-Qaeda cell members they are attempting to identify. Each team briefed on their findings and plans, and were evaluated by the investigations instructors. By the end of the week, aided by on-the-spot coaching by the SME investigators, the PRPD teams succeeded in thwarting the fictional al-Qaeda cell’s efforts to attack three separate targets in Puerto Rico with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs).

 

During the workshop, senior PRPD officers participated with the SWAT and Bomb Squad members in order to directly observe the progress their investigators made from experiencing the hands-on training and the realistic scenario. These officials praised the depth and quality of the course work.

 

The high quality of this project has prompted the PRPD to engage CRA to conduct a year-long schedule of HazMat/Terrorism Threat/Investigations training for large numbers of the field police force as well as several exercises to test their newly acquired capabilities.

 
Click HERE to contact Tom Irwin or phone him at (212) 402-5500 to discuss how CRA can assist you with exercise development.