FBI New Orleans
Craig C. Betbeze
(504) 816-3274
August 29, 2016

FBI Child Abduction Training

Throughout the week, the FBI will be conducting training for law enforcement agencies in Louisiana. This training will provide attending agencies with the necessary skills and investigative techniques to successfully respond to a child abduction incident. The training consists of both classroom and field training exercises. Classroom instruction will take place at the Kenner Police Department and a mock child-abduction field training exercise will be conducted in and around the Kenner, Louisiana area.

This training scenario has been conducted in several places across the country, including Texas, Nevada, Louisiana, Rhode Island, Arkansas, North Carolina, New Jersey, and Arizona with great success.

Participants will receive instruction from the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit, the Cellular Analysis Survey Team, and the Child Abduction Rapid Deployment Team. A variety of topics will be covered by the instructors including an overview of child sex offenders, understanding the behavior of child abductors, false allegations of abductions, and abduction case management.

The training culminates in a field training exercise (FTX) on September 1, 2016, during which the investigators will put to use the skills and techniques they learned to solve a mock child abduction. Local media is welcome to attend and participate in the FTX as if it were a “real” abduction investigation. The FTX will begin around 8:45 a.m. on September with the command post being established at the intersection of West Esplanade Avenue and Grandwood Boulevard in Kenner, Louisiana.

The FTX is designed to reinforce the concepts presented during the classroom portion of the training. Upon completion of the training on Friday, members of the class will be part of the Joint Child Abduction Rapid Deployment (JCARD) team that will cover the New Orleans area. This is a joint venture between federal, state, and local agencies put in place by the New Orleans Division and the FBI’s national Child Abduction Rapid Deployment (CARD) team. This will be the second JCARD team established in Louisiana, with the first formed in the Baton Rouge area.

The Kenner Police Department and the FBI New Orleans Division will host a joint press conference with participating law enforcement agencies involved in the CARD training on Wednesday, August 31 at 4:00 p.m. at Kenner Police Department Headquarters located at 500 Veterans Memorial Blvd. in Kenner, Louisiana 70062, to announce the CARD training and the FTX to coincide on Thursday, September 1, 2016.