1st class of police officers assigned to HSI San Juan graduates
The Puerto Rico Task Force Officer Course (PRTOC) 24-01 Class is the first group of state and municipal police officers from Puerto Rico to be trained stateside.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) San Juan announced the recent graduation of the first group of the Puerto Rico Task Force Officers Course (PRTOC), held at the Guardian Centers facilities in Georgia over a period of three weeks.
The group of 29 task-force officers includes 15 police officers from the Puerto Rico Police Bureau, five from the Guaynabo Municipal Police, three from the San Juan Municipal Police, one from the Barceloneta Municipal Police, one from the U.S. Virgin Islands Police, three agents from the Treasury Department, and one agent from the Special Investigations Bureau.
“The PRTOC is a specialized training course for criminal investigators that reinforces the fundamentals of state and municipal officers assigned to HSI San Juan focused on providing new tools to strengthen investigative mechanisms to investigate transnational criminal organizations that threaten the stability and national security of the United States,” the agency stated.
The course is designed to develop students in different areas of HSI responsibilities and disciplines, including classroom instruction, hands-on exercises and an eight-phase continuous case scenario involving real-life actors.
“My mission has always been to provide police officers assigned to HSI with the development and training necessary to continue their professional development. In Puerto Rico, our reach as a federal law enforcement agency is amplified by the performance of our HSI police officers,” said Rebecca González-Ramos, special agent in charge of HSI San Juan.
“We’re so proud to be able to celebrate this graduation! After three weeks of physical and mental training, our police officers showed dedication, professionalism, and most importantly, brotherhood,” she said. “We have 29 officers who excelled in the HSI investigations course, who now have additional tools for fighting crime.”
HSI invested in implementing the course, whose curriculum has been “more than proven” for years in the International Task Force Agent Training (ITAT).
The 29 students received specialized training in investigations, tactics, and case management, including security operations, human smuggling and trafficking, investigative methods, defense tactics, general surveillance exercises, interviewing and interrogation, building entry, undercover operations, evidence management, and cybercrime, among others.
The ongoing case simulating a real-life investigation generated great interest among the students, involving actors and a trial with the support of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico and the participation of Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille García, HSI stated.
Several heads of law enforcement components were present during the graduation ceremonies, including Public Safety Secretary Alexis Torres, Puerto Rico Police Bureau Joint Forces Director Capt. Neidy Ortiz, Special Investigations Bureau Commissioner Rafael Freytes, San Juan Municipal Police Commissioner Juan Jackson, and Barceloneta Police Commissioner Javier Cruz-Cruz.
“The union of state, municipal and federal entities is essential for the security of Puerto Rico. I’m extremely proud of all the police officers who demonstrated their capacity as law enforcement agents,” said Torres.
