The Multijurisdictional Counterdrug Task Force Training (MCTFT) program is one of five National Counterdrug Schools which have been established to provide tuition free, counterdrug training to law enforcement agencies and community based operations. The Florida National Guard contracted with St. Petersburg College to coordinate training, develop curriculum, and manage the pool of over 300 instructors and subject matter experts currently serving the program.
The school is located at the Southeastern Public Safety Institute (SEPSI) Campus of St. Petersburg College in St. Petersburg, Florida. SEPSI is a state-of-the-art facility with a wide variety of special features to enhance the training received. In all courses, the safety of law enforcement, military, and civilian lives is of paramount importance. Throughout Fiscal Year 2009, MCTFT has continued their record of outstanding performance in the instruction of unique, tuition-free training covering all aspects of counterdrug law enforcement and related support for community anti-drug coalitions. During this year, MCTFT held 909 classes or broadcasts, and trained 410,105 students.
Since its inception in 1993, MCTFT has trained more than one million students throughout the 50 states and four U.S. territories by instructor-led classes, satellite training programs, CD-ROM independent study courses, and online “eDrug” training courses. MCTFT partnerships with local, state, and federal organizations strengthen our ability to provide the highest quality training available today. Training is offered through a variety of training methodologies including: Traditional, Drug Demand Reduction events, Distance Learning, On-Line “e-Drug” courses, CD-ROM and Tapes, and through Conferences. The productivity of each methodology is provided below:
Traditional Training
MCTFT traditional course offerings progress from classroom lectures to “real life” scenarios that train attendees to utilize available resources to develop an investigation for successful prosecution. This year MCTFT conducted 483 traditional training classes and trained 39,126 students. Most of these classes were accomplished through Mobile Training Teams to ensure coverage of our area of responsibility. Requiring students to come to our physical location for training puts too great a cost burden on the supported agency and results in the preponderance of training being provided to local area students only, rather than a supported region. Within Traditional Training, two valuable courses were added: A new three-day Tactical Drug Operations course was piloted in Tallahassee, Fla., and is now being booked as a traditional course for any agency. Previously this course was held only in a limited number of locations due to unique training requirements. The new three-day version is more streamlined and can now be conducted anywhere in the country.
Also, a new Hidden Compartment Class entitled “SCoRE” for Secret Compartment Recognition Education was developed and will be offered in FY10 consisting of a variety of trucks and car sized vehicles under various conditions.
Drug Demand Reduction
Several years ago MCTFT developed a new DDR curriculum aimed at educating Florida’s youth to resist the pressure from peers to try drugs. The program, called “Mount Everest Challenge,” incorporates a classroom session and video, followed by a chance to climb a 20-foot rock wall. The program has been very successful over the years, and is in high demand by educational groups across Florida. During FY09, 3,976 school-aged students were trained via this method.
Distance Learning Broadcast
MCTFT’s satellite broadcasts have produced award-winning videos and television news style counterdrug broadcasts which are beamed to thousands of downlink sites in all 50 states. MCTFT uses a state-of-the-art television studio located at the Allstate Center campus of St. Petersburg College to produce live and taped broadcasts. In Fiscal Year 2009, 15 Distance Learning Broadcasts with 330,997 students were conducted, with the most watched live broadcast being “Countering the Drug Culture” which had 1,340 registered downlink sites and 50,488 students. Also, 1,865 viewers watched the MCTFT video productions via the Internet.
Online Training
The MCTFT online “e-Drug” training courses are open-entry/open exit, student centered, interactive, and stand alone making them available 24/7. The content was derived from the traditional courses and provides an overview to the curriculum and outlines safety issues for law enforcement officers. The infrastructure for the course delivery involves a secure application process, online registration, a certificate for students upon successful completion of testing, and a help desk for technology issues. During FY09, 16,073 students were trained in the 17 courses currently offered online. They are:
• Airport Narcotics Investigations
• Introduction to Clandestine Laboratory Investigations
• Clandestine Laboratory Recertification
• Command and Control Overview
• Introduction to Conspiracy Investigations
• Criminal Street Gangs Overview
• Criminal Street Gangs Overview - Spanish
• Drug Identification
• Ethical Issues and Decisions in Law Enforcement
• Explosives, Booby Traps and Bomb Threat Management
• Introduction to Highway and Rural Drug Investigations
• Introduction to Interview and Interrogation
• Introduction to Patrol Drug Investigations
• Overdose America
• Police Intelligence
• Risk Management and Violence in Undercover Operations
• Surveillance Operations Overview
CD-ROM Training
The MCTFT program provides CD-ROM interactive courses exclusively to law enforcement and military personnel. The courses were developed in conjunction with the United States Army Military Police School and provide the student with the capability of requesting a certificate upon completion of training. During FY09, at least 776 students were trained via this training method, it should be noted that it is impossible to know whether the CDs are shared after one student completes the course.
Narcotics Officers Associations
The MCTFT Program provides a highly successful training option in its conduct of “Conference Topics” which consist of four-hour blocks of instruction specially designed for teaching at counterdrug related conferences. Since its inception, the program has been working closely with nearly every Narcotics Officer Association across the country, and during FY 2009 we supported 78 conference topics and trained 10,506 law enforcement officers via this training delivery method.