U.S. Homeland Security is conducting a five-day “Surveillance Detection for Bombing Prevention” training at the Pacific Islands Club.
The training began on April 4, 2022 and the participants are law enforcers from the Department of Public Safety, the local judiciary Marshals Division, the Transportation Security Administration, Alcoholic Beverage & Tobacco Control, CNMI Homeland Security, and individuals from the private sector.
“We have a big event coming up and it’s going to increase our population…so we want them to feel safe,” said DPS assistant chief of police, Lawrence Camacho, referring to the 2022 Pacific Mini Games that the CNMI will host from June 17 to 25.
“The utmost importance is security and safety during the event, and that is our priority,” Camacho added. “The training opened our eyes about some things that we were not aware of.”
The governor’s chief of staff, Wil Castro, said the “main takeaway” from the training “is the heightened sense of awareness of what can happen in our community….”
“As you can see,” he added, “most of the participants are dressed down, because we were told to blend in. They taught us to walk into an establishment for example, and determine the vulnerable aspect of the establishment. Is there enough security? Is there a person acting in a conspicuous manner?”
An intelligence analyst at CNMI Homeland Security Fusion Center, Eric Esteves said the training highlights surveillance. “We learn how to identify people — bad people,” he added.
“We will also share the information we learned here with other law enforcers who are not here so we can all work as a team,” Esteves said.
One of the private sector participants, Maria Camacho, said, “There is a big event coming, the Pacific Mini Games, and I want to volunteer and support our governor, Ralph DLG Torres, and the community.”
Lawrence Camacho
Wil Castro
Eric Esteves
Maria Camacho
The five-day training, which started on April 4, 2022, is being conducted by U.S. Homeland Security at the Pacific Islands Club.
