By Seleoe Nonyane
The United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) through its agents, held a 13-day biometric training at the Police Training College in Maseru which came to an end on Thursday this week.
The training was for officials representing several Lesotho law enforcement and security agencies.
Organizations that participated in the training included the Lesotho Mounted Police Service, Lesotho Defence Force, Directorate on Corruption and Economic Offence.
The United States and Lesotho signed a Law Enforcement Memorandum of Cooperation in November 2021, which facilitates ongoing FBI cooperation with security agencies in Lesotho
This training was a continuation of engagement begun in September 2021 between the FBI and the Lesotho Mounted Police Service, which involved FBI assistance in scanning and digitizing over 70,000 criminal fingerprint records, some dating back to the 1960s.
United States Ambassador Maria Brewer said, “These training courses, led by visiting FBI agents, demonstrate the commitment of the United States to join with and assist the Government of Lesotho in building a more robust, capable, and professional law enforcement community in Lesotho, one that offers a safer and more secure environment to its citizens”.
The courses included in the training were Scientific Basics of Fingerprints or Palmprints, Face Comparison and identification.
