16 hours DCJS career development in-service credit

Local law enforcement officers play a vital role in the counter-terrorism effort, probably more than they even begin to understand. This two-day course begins with understanding the terrorist mindset and how this new criminal operates and functions. Emphasis is placed on gathering intelligence and evidence to uncover and exploit criminal activity that may be linked to the terrorist effort. Covering both international and domestic terrorism, specific indicators and methods are identified that may lead to exposing or identifying persons associated with a variety of terrorist organizations and efforts. A substantial amount of information to assist uniformed officers and detectives will be offered during the limited time setting.

Counter-terrorism efforts may hinge on specific methods used by criminals and/or terrorists to secrete their true identity. The use of fraudulent documents to avoid detection or to commit criminal acts, in collusion with the rampant use of identity fraud, is an ever-mounting problem to law enforcement officers and detectives. This course will strive to give officers confidence in viewing documents and being able to ascertain those that are fraudulent without the use of tools or instruments; street usable knowledge. From the documents, the officer will travel to document mills to learn about how they are operated and the most effective tools to counter-act their operations. The use of controlled purchases and search warrants will be examined as these are the most common and effective tools to defeat document mills.

"The course is very informative.  There is a wealth of information and it will make you change your thought process."

"This course should be taken by every police officer.  Very informative."

Check the Training Calendar for course availability, location and registration cost information.


About the Instructor:
Detective Doug Comfort has been a sworn law enforcement officer for more than 30 years.  Since 09-11-01, he has been assigned to the Criminal Investigations Bureau of the Fairfax County Police Department and is responsible for the investigation of offenses related to domestic and international terrorism.  He has over 25 years of experience in classroom instruction and teaches throughout the United States.  He has been assigned to various local, state, and federal law enforcement agency groups specializing in specific criminal activity. 

Doug has developed training programs for state and local sworn personnel directly associated with the identification of street level indicators of possible terrorist activity and the appropriate law enforcement response.  Courses have included specific training programs in Information Sharing, Counter Terrorism for Patrol, Fraudulent Document Identification, and Intellectual Property Crimes.  These programs are directed at local, state, and federal law enforcement, patrol and investigative divisions, and seek to combine the information gathered at the street level to interdict criminal activity and/or enhance investigative capabilities. 

Doug has been a consultant and contributor to various publications regarding investigative techniques used to enhance law enforcement capabilities in the investigative process.  He has been the subject of several articles for his innovative procedures in successfully prosecuting cases.  He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Administration of Justice from the American University in Washington, DC.