News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 28, 2003

Drug Investigator School Scheduled In Salt Lake City, Utah

SALT LAKE CITY - The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in cooperation with Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (H.I.D.T.A.) and the Utah State Peace Officer Standards and Training Academy (P.O.S.T.) will be conducting a Two Week Basic Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Investigator School. The school will take place April 28 - May 9, 2003, at the Utah P.O.S.T. Academy, 4525 South, 2700 West, Salt Lake City, Utah.

This is an 80-hour course, comprehensive in nature and covers many aspects of drug law enforcement and investigation. Topics include: Drug Identification/Pharmacology, Asset Forfeiture, Clandestine Labs, Informant Management., Surveillance, Law, Testimony, Raid Planning and Execution, Search and Seizure, Raves and Club Drugs, Conspiracy, Interview/Interrogation, Undercover Operations and Drug Field Testing. The school's format involves classroom lectures, discussion, and individual/group field exercises.

"We are proud to be working with Rocky Mountain High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area and the Utah State Police Officers Standards and Training. Law enforcement combined with treatment and prevention efforts has proven to be an effective tool to diminish the scourge of drug abuse in our communities," said Special Agent In Charge Jeffrey D. Sweetin of the DEA Rocky Mountain Division.

DEA and H.I.D.T.A. conducts four of these schools yearly at no cost for students in each of the four states that make up the Rocky Mountain Division including Utah, Montana, Wyoming and Colorado. These schools expand and reproduce drug law enforcement efforts throughout the region and provide valuable technical and practical expertise many agencies would not be able to provide on limited training budgets.

"The basis for these schools is partnering federal law enforcement with state and local counterparts. To have lasting success in ridding drugs from our neighborhoods, our law enforcement efforts need to be shared and carried out together," said Special Agent In Charge Sweetin.

A wide range of law enforcement personnel are attending the two-week seminar that can count for as much as three credit hours of college education. Although the DEA's role as a law enforcement agency is well known, it's role in training and prevention activities is equally important in ridding our communities of illegal drugs. These activities include education and training for young people, parents, teachers, coaches, employers and community leaders.

For additional information contact Special Agent Daniel Reuter at the Rocky Mountain Field Division Office at (303)705-7384 or Salt Lake City Assistant Special Agent In Charge Barry Jamison at (801)524-4156 or visit DEA's website at www.dea.gov.