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By Leischen Stelter, editor of In Public Safety

Every year, I attend several law enforcement conferences around the country to gain insight about the most pressing issues and challenges facing officers and agencies. The one I look forward to the most is the Mid-Atlantic Intel & Law Enforcement Training Seminar (INLETS). (Full disclosure: AMU is proudly a sponsor of this event).

This year’s event is taking place on June 22-26 in Annapolis, Maryland and is led by the FBI, the Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center (the state fusion center), and InfraGard. I consider this event to be the best of all worlds for these reasons:

  • It draws impressive national and international speakers who provide comprehensive presentations to help other agencies better prepare for terrorism and mass casualty events. For example, last year’s presentations included the first U.S. presentation by the Oslo, Norway Police Department about the two sequential lone-wolf attacks in 2011.
  • It is a purposely small event. Organizers limit attendance to around 250 sworn law enforcement personnel so attendees truly have an opportunity to network with one another and with presenters. The event draws officers from all over the country. Last year’s attendees represented 100 agencies from 19 different states.
  • INLETS features a unique workshop schedule that gives attendees the opportunity to spend a considerable amount of time learning about a topic that interests them. Throughout the five-day event, attendees spend a total of four or five hours in workshops learning about the details of a topic or case study.

Agenda for 2015

The keynote speaker will be Captain Richard Phillips, whose rescue after Somali pirates hijacked his ship was famously depicted in the Hollywood movie, Captain Phillips.
Captain Richard Phillips will be the keynote speaker during INLETS 2015

This year the keynote speaker will be Captain Richard Phillips, whose rescue after Somali pirates hijacked his ship was famously depicted in the Hollywood movie, Captain Phillips.

Many of the presentations expand on previous events. “Last year, one of the biggest requests we had from law enforcement was continued training on active shooters,” said Steven Shepherd, special agent with the FBI and one of the primary organizers of INLETS.

Officers didn’t request further training about responding to an active shooter—that training is thoroughly covered by their agency—but rather more information and insight about what to expect in the aftermath of such an event.

“An active shooter event lasts an average of five to 12 minutes, but once it’s over, officers wanted to know about the impact on the department and those involved,” said Stevens. “So this year, we sought out presenters who were responders and survivors of such events to hear how they dealt with the aftermath.”

One such presenter will be Kristina Anderson, a survivor of the Virginia Tech shooting. Her presentation will discuss how the event changed her life. The presentation will also feature Gene Deisinger, who was brought into the university’s police department almost immediately after the incident. Deisinger will discuss how the event impacted his agency and the organization. “Such a point of view can provide attendees with important lessons should a similar event ever occur in their department,” said Shepherd.

Another insightful perspective will be provided by the police departments involved in the Christopher Dorner shooting. All five departments who responded to that event will share their perspective on the incident. Officers will provide information about how their departments responded as well as how they recovered.

From an international perspective on terrorism, officers from the French National Police will present on the Charlie Hebdo attacks and homegrown Islamic extremism. They will discuss how the Internet has contributed to the rise of such terrorist groups and what agencies around the world can do to identify these groups.

Check out the full agenda for in-depth information about this year’s event.