DAS Bradley Visits the RTC

January 18 2022 15:01
RTC

We concluded the month of December with a high-level visit from the International Narcotics and Law Enforcement (INL) Program Office. What a way to end the year!! On December 9, the RTC was privileged to welcome the Deputy Assistant Secretary (DAS) Tobin Bradley on his first official visit to Ghana. He was accompanied by the INL Director – Chris Carlisle, the FBI Legal Attaché - Marcelle Bebbe – Ramish, INL/AME Program Officer - Jack Stejskal and representatives from the U.S. embassy in Accra.  DAS Bradley oversees INL’s Africa and Middle East (AME) office and Knowledge Management (KM) office.

As part of the visit, the RTC Director, Hayward Lampley, led a tour of the facility and gave a brief background of the RTC, including how the program has evolved since 2012. DAS Bradley was highly impressed about the RTC facility and the events that take place there. Additionally, Director Lampley briefed DAS Bradley on the RTC’s strategy and how the RTC is working to meet its goals in line with INL’s priorities.

The alumni team presented an overview of the RTC’s alumni outreach efforts with an emphasis on the recently launched Alumni Portal and identified ways by which alumni can leverage the benefits of the portal.  DAS Bradley was particularly interested in the RTC’s approach to alumni coordination and ideas on how to encourage alumni to use the portal. He was highly impressed about how the RTC pivoted to virtual training and found exciting new ways of leveraging online tools and technology to enhance training experiences and connect with alumni.

DAS Bradley had the chance to speak with participants attending the virtual FBI Cyber Investigative Course. The course was a 3-day program with investigators and prosecutors from Ghana, Nigeria, Guinea Bissau and Cabo Verde. During his remarks, he expressed his appreciation to the FBI team and indicated that transnational criminal networks are constantly finding innovative ways to manipulate modern technology leading to the rise in international crime. He added that the greatest threat of cybercrime is as a result of emerging transnational networks who take advantage of the virtual currencies and the dark web to facilitate all sorts of crime.  He reminded participants that they are also part of a network of over 70,000 law enforcement officers who can work together to build a stronger network to combat criminal activities. He called on each one to continue to stay in touch with the RTC staff and share challenges, opportunities and questions. He encouraged participants to utilize the alumni resources, including the alumni portal, to establish professional connections with their colleagues and U.S. interagency partners.