Addendum_2_Honduras_Factsheet_-_Overview_of_Programs_(Final).pdf

Community Policing and Youth Engagement: Gang Resistance Education and Training (G.R.E.A.T.) is a school-based gang and violence prevention program for 4th through 9th graders, in which law enforcement officers instill critical decision-making and leadership skills. In 2013, G.R.E.A.T. reached more than 14,000 youth in Honduras.

INL’s Model Police Precinct (MPP) program also emphasizes community engagement and crime prevention through the use of intelligence, targeted investigations, and community involvement. The primary goal is to achieve a significant reduction in violent crimes, particularly homicide, and to greatly reduce the influence of organized gangs such as MS-13 and Barrio 18. INL is also committed to supporting local NGOs that promote access to justice and victims services.

Police Professionalization and Reform: The Police Reform Assistance Program (PRAP) supports Honduran government efforts to improve transparency and reduce corruption in the national police. INL advisors work with Honduran government counterparts on three lines of effort: 1) establishing a Honduran police reform committee and advising the government on developing a reform implementation plan, 2) updating the Honduran National Police Law and regulations, and 3) piloting a Comparative Statistics (CompStat)-inspired, intelligence-led policing model.

Justice Sector Reform: Through the Department of Justice’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training (OPDAT), INL supports a Resident Legal Advisor (RLA) embedded in the Honduran Attorney General’s Office. The RLA is assigned to focus on trafficking in persons cases tied to organized crime. The RLA also builds Honduran prosecutorial capacity on complex case management through training, mentoring, and oversight.

Training: INL provides technical and logistical assistance to the Escuela de Investigacion Criminal, which trains investigators, preventative police officers, analysts, detectives, prosecutors and judges in criminal investigation. INL has fully transferred responsibility to the Honduran staff for managing the school and administering the Basic Criminal Investigations Course. As of May 2013, over 3,634 Honduran National Police (HNP), prosecutors and judges have successfully completed this course. INL also provides logistical support and curriculum development.

Counternarcotics and Citizen Security: INL works with U.S. interagency and international partners to provide training, equipment, and vetting support to several Honduran law enforcement units and task forces. The goals of these programs are to improve Honduran citizen security and reduce the influence of criminal organizations.

The interagency-advised units include: the Honduran Transnational Anti-Gang Unit, advised by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI-TAG); the Transnational Criminal Investigative Unit, advised by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI-TCIU); the Special Tactical Operations Group, advised by Customs and Border Protection (CBP- GOET); and the Special Investigative Unit, advised by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA-SIU). Other INL-supported units include the Violent Crimes Task Force (VCTF), Financial Crimes Task Force (FCTF), National Anti-Gang Unit (NAGU), and the Special Response Intelligence and Security Group (TIGRES). These task forces and units produce tangible results because of the close mentoring and technical support they receive. For example, since 2011 the VCTF has investigated 215 high-profile, complex cases leading to 51 arrests, 60 indictments, 17 trials, and 12 convictions. In 2014, the GOET encountered and returned over 100 unaccompanied minors unprepared to safely make the arduous journey northward.

Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Updated: August 2014

Rule of Law Programs in Honduras

U.S. Department of State

INL partners with the Government of Honduras through the Central American Regional Security Initiative

(CARSI) to implement programs which increase citizen security and advance the rule of law.

INL programs, in partnership with the government of Honduras, strengthen citizen security and promote rule of law by combatting violence, corruption, impunity and other major crimes, with a special focus on narcotics trafficking.

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