Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT)

OPDAT was created in the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice in 1991 in response to the growing threat of transnational crime.  OPDAT builds strong foreign partners who can work with the United States to enhance cooperation in transnational cases and to fight crime before it reaches our shores.

OPDAT has Resident Legal Advisors (RLAs), Intermittent Legal Advisors (ILAs), and International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Advisors (ICHIPs) posted around the world providing expert assistance and case-based guidance to foreign counterparts to develop justice systems that can combat transnational crime and terrorism in furtherance of U.S. national security.

OPDAT keeps Americans safe from violent crime by increasing partner nation skills to disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations at the source.  At the same time, OPDAT advisors develop relationships of trust with foreign counterparts to help them investigate and prosecute illegal migration, cartels, gangs, cybercrime, trafficking, terrorism, and other transnational crimes that are harmful to U.S. interests at home and abroad.  OPDAT works closely with components throughout the Department of Justice, and partners globally with federal law enforcement agencies to advance the Administration’s foreign policy.

OPDAT’s programs are funded through interagency agree­ments between OPDAT and these United States Government partners:

• U.S. Department of State
• U.S. Department of Defense

OPDAT draws on USG and Department of Justice resources and expertise to enhance cooperation with foreign criminal justice sector institutions in transnational cases.  OPDAT programs are designed to strengthen the link between security sector assistance and tangible law enforcement and justice sector outcomes.  Additionally, DOJ’s overseas operational and assistance engagements reinforce one another, consistent with U.S. national security objectives, so that the Department can use the full force of its authority and expertise to work with foreign governments in combating transnational crime and advancing security.  Through OPDAT’s programs, partnerships are developed with foreign justice systems that achieve national security and justice priorities.

The majority of OPDAT’s programs are implemented in country by Resident Legal Advisors (RLAs), who are experienced DOJ prosecutors attached to U.S. embassies for at least one year, typically longer.  With the assistance of their Foreign Service National staff, they assess host country criminal justice institutions and procedures; draft, review and comment on legislation and criminal enforcement matters; and provide technical assistance to host country officials at the Ministry of Justice, Prosecutor General’s Office, or to prosecutors, judges, and other justice sector personnel.  OPDAT also deploys Intermittent Legal Advisors (ILAs), DOJ prosecutors who are on targeted assignments of less than a year to help foreign partners who request expert assistance in specific cases impacting the United States.

Finally, OPDAT has developed a global network of International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property Advisors (ICHIPs) to advise foreign counterparts on strengthening investigations, prosecutions, and cross-border cooperation against cyber and IP crimes.  RLA, ILA, and ICHIP programs are overseen by Headquarters regional teams. At any given time, OPDAT has dozens of RLAs, ILAs, and ICHIPs in partner nations conducting bilateral and regional programs.

In addition to programs in the field, OPDAT headquarters staff plan and implement programs in countries without an RLA, ILA, or ICHIP presence.

These programs include the Battlefield Evidence Initiative, which ensures that enemy material / battlefield evidence is available to prosecutors investigating and prosecuting foreign terrorist fighters and the Global Rapid Response Fund, which provides technical assistance and/or case-based mentoring at short notice to foreign partners seeking to investigate and prosecute the financing of criminal organizations that target U.S. citizens.

OPDAT focuses on long-term, comprehensive, and sustainable justice reform in partner nations to keep Americans safe and ensure American prosperity.  It accomplishes this mission through the development of sound legislative frameworks that protect American interests and programming consistent with the President’s foreign policy.  Programs are tailored to host country legal infrastructures and interoperability with the U.S. justice system.  OPDAT coordinates these efforts with the U.S. interagency and international partners.

OPDAT enjoys unique access to some of the most experienced criminal justice experts in the nation.  The Department of Justice, with over 5,000 Assistant U.S. Attorneys and over 600 Criminal Division attorneys, provides a primary source of expertise.  Depending on U.S. priorities in each host country, OPDAT also coordinates with other Department of Justice components, including the National Security Division; ATF; DEA; FBI; and U.S. Marshals Service.  In addition, OPDAT can utilize the law enforcement expertise of other federal departments, such as Treasury and Homeland Security, as well as state and local prosecutors’ offices.  OPDAT also coordinates with U.S. judges and related organizations.