Executive leadership education.

The most effective weapon against crime is cooperation--the efforts of all law enforcement agencies with the support and understanding of the American people.

--J. Edgar Hoover

An integral part of strategic leadership development in law enforcement is the fostering of cooperation and liaison among policing agencies at all levels throughout the world. The FBI provides many internationally recognized training initiatives, particularly in the field of leadership education. In addressing the importance of these efforts, it is imperative to understand the genesis of former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover's vision, which can be found in an inscription on a memorial to him at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. It reads, "The most effective weapon against crime is cooperation--the efforts of all law enforcement agencies with the support and understanding of the American people."

Mr. Hoover's vision was first realized with the inception of the FBI National Academy (FBINA) in 1935. The FBINA is a 10-week residency program at the FBI Academy for U.S. and international law enforcement leaders that serves to improve the administration of justice at all levels. In addition to the FBINA, the FBI sponsors four significant leadership programs targeting chief executives of law enforcement agencies. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the FBI's first such program, the National Executive Institute (NEI), which is designed for agency heads of departments with a minimum of 500 sworn personnel and a citizen population of at least 250,000. The Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar (LEEDS) began in 1981 and is tailored for agency heads of departments with 50 to 499 sworn officers and a community population of at least 50,000. The Regional Command College system rounds out this three-tier approach--20 regional seminars are held each year to provide professional training to executives of agencies with less than 50 sworn officers.

The most recent initiative by the FBI is the Law Enforcement in a Counterterrorism Environment (LinCT) program. With the events of September 11, 2001, the context for much of the FBI's instruction and liaison necessarily changed. This endeavor led to the creation of the LinCT program, which is a collaborative effort with the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Scottish Police College with the assistance of Harvard University and St. Andrews University. Presently, a Pacific Rim LinCT course is in the developmental stages and will include law enforcement leaders from the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

For more information about any of these programs, please contact the training coordinator in your local FBI field office. Addresses and contact numbers for each field office can be found at http://www.fbi.gov/contact/fo/fo.htm.

Dr. Larry "Nick" Nicholson, program manager in the Leadership Development Institute at the FBI Academy, prepared Leadership Spotlight.