ICITAP Celebrates 34 Years of Strengthening Law Enforcement Capacity Throughout the World

On January 6, ICITAP celebrated its 34-year anniversary. As a result of Congress passing legislation in 1985 to expand a waiver to Section 660 to include “programs to enhance investigative capabilities conducted under judicial or prosecutorial control,” Section 534(b)(3) of the Foreign Assistance Act authorized the establishment of ICITAP in 1986. The program was funded at $1.52 million for its first year, which was originally located in the Office of the Deputy Attorney General, to help gain prosecution in key human rights cases in El Salvador and to bolster the criminal investigative capacity of Latin American security forces. For the remainder of that decade, ICITAP provided training in criminal investigation, forensics, police management and combating violent crime to established law enforcement agencies in Central and South America. Since 1986, ICITAP has strengthened national security by advancing U.S. law enforcement operations abroad through t training, mentoring, and technical assistance in 107 countries worldwide. ICITAP’s mission is. For more information: www.justice.gov/criminal-icitap For ICITAP historical milestones: www.justice.gov/criminal-icitap/strategic-plan