A team of instructors from the Orlando Law Enforcement Training Center was in Uruguay last week to work with local police on a specialized training program offered at the Uruguayan National Police Academy.

At the request of the Uruguayan police, the topics of instruction this year dealt with crowd control and domestic violence. The course on "Crowd Control and Negotiation" covers techniques on diffusing the situation, negotiating, and non-confrontational management of demonstrations. The course on "Domestic Violence" deals with police response to this type of problem that has become of increased concern in Uruguay. These topics were selected by the Uruguayan police approximately six months ago. As in the previous two years, the program has been made possible through a partnership between the United States Embassy in Montevideo, the Ministry of the Interior of Uruguay, and the Uruguayan National Police Academy.

This year, a total of 70 Uruguayan police officers received the specialized training. The officers were drawn from the Montevideo, Canelones, Colonia, Maldonado, and Salto police departments.

Two Spanish-speaking police officers from the Orange County Sheriff's Department, Corporal Dan Soto and Deputy Frank Soto, are part of this year's team of instructors. The other members are Lieutenant Tony Fannin and Sargeant Chad McDaniel from the Seminole County Sherif's Department.

At the end of the course, the Uruguayan officers were presented with police equipment donated by their colleagues in Florida such as bulletproof vests, complete gun belts and holsters, handcuffs, and souvenirs such as t-shirts, caps, and even unused traffic ticket books.

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