DPS sponsors grant-based training

The Texas Department of Public Safety again partnered with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma to offer a five-day Interdiction for the Protection of Children Train the Trainer Course from Sept. 25-29, according to a press release Wednesday.

IPC is a crimes against children class that includes human trafficking, .

IPC trains front-line officers to recognize indicators that a child may be a victim, at risk of victimization or missing, as well as recognizing high-risk threats to children.

“DPS is honored to once again partner with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma to offer this critically important training to our fellow law enforcement officers who can immediately benefit from it,” said DPS Director Steven Mc-Craw. “This partnership means more children in more places have a better chance of being rescued, so together, we can save more victims.”

Ten new IPC instructors were certified during the 40-hour training course in September, including eight law enforcement officers and two victim services coordinators.

Four law enforcement agencies attended the training to become certified to instruct IPC throughout Oklahoma, including the Choctaw Nation Lighthorse Police, Chickasaw Nation Lighthorse Police, Johnston County Sheriff’s Office and Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Certifying these instructors marks an exciting milestone for the IPC program as these are the first tribal IPC instructors to become certified to present IPC training.

This new partnership between certified law enforcement agencies, victim services and DPS will further aid in the protection of children and the interdiction of human traffickers throughout Oklahoma and Indian Country.

The training was made possible through a grant from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office)– the component of the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for advancing the practice of community policing by the nation’s state, local, territorial, and tribal law enforcement agencies through information and grant resources.

The DPS COPS grant’s objective is to develop and exchange practice-based innovation in community policing or expand the body of data regarding effectiveness in an effort to enhance goal skills and strategies to address crime or advance public safety.

DPS developed the IPC program to help frontline law enforcement officers identify and rescue endangered or exploited children and identify those who pose a high-risk threat to a child. While law enforcement officers are well-trained and highly proficient in making observations of suspicious behaviors leading to arrests and successful interdictions of illicit drugs, weapons and currency, this program works to expand their training and knowledge with a child-centered/ victim-centered approach to working child victimization cases and identifying those who offend against children.

IPC is a comprehensive training course covering topics from understanding victims and offenders, legal issues and authority, working with children, the officer’s role to understanding indicators and intelligence reporting, as well as identifying and working with local/state resources such as child and victim services. The program’s core message is to Stop Waiting for Children to Ask for Your Help.