The Benton Police Department, in conjunction with the Saline County Prosecutors Office, recently hosted the nationally renowned criminal and terrorist interdiction training group known as ‘Desert Snow’. The class was held at the Benton Events Center from 1/14/14-1/16/14 and had 40 officers from 15 different agencies represented.
The Desert Snow program was conceived in 1989 with the goal of giving officers professional, legal, roadside interdiction tactics to help them identify terrorists and major smugglers while conducting everyday patrol responsibilities. Desert Snow teaches officers to conduct legal traffic stops and how to identify major criminal activity by taking into account the totality of the circumstances on each and every traffic stop.
The Desert Snow instructors offer no other type of training, because they feel the terrorist and drug problem in the United States is so prolific and such a threat to the American public that it warrants their complete attention and focus. According to Dave Frye, Director of Training for Desert Snow, “the purpose of this training is not to encourage searches, but instead the goal is to teach officers to search vehicles where criminal activity is present.”
Saline County Prosecutor, Ken Casady, said “we were happy to host this type of training for the law enforcement officers in the county and think it will be very beneficial for the agencies represented.”
This course is part of a national training tour that Desert Snow is embarking on this year where they will train officers in 36 different states by the end of 2014.
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