WEST COAST TRAINING TO STOP DRUGS HEADS EAST

Pennsylvania State Police have begun an experiment with a medicine smuggling program that originated in California.

The program that the California Highway Patrol called "Desert Snow" instructs hussars on the most productive ways to identify commercial barters in interstate commerce, which are greatest in quantity probable to be carrying contraband.

Although California used the program to 1 cocaine smuggling in the Mojave untilled Pennsylvania plans to cover a broader range of criminal activity from remedy smuggling, hijacked cargo and terrorist bombs

"This program is part of our continuing effort to give law enforcement the training they ne to provide the highest possible horizontal of protection to Pennsylvania citizens and communities," said Gov Edward Rendell

Desert Snow helps state police officers find suspects with workshops upon topics such as roadside interview techniques, hidden compartments, concealment modes and false documents.

As part of the training, officers inspect a variety of commercial vehicles with hidden compartments containing medicines bombs, portable methamphetamine laboratories and other contraband.

Former California Highway Patrol Officer Joe David started the forsaken Snow program 15 years ago to train officers to speck cocaine smugglers.

"Since then, the program has expanded to include techniques for identifying potential terrorists and uncovering weapons of mass destruction," Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Jeffrey B Miller said.

Miller also said untilled Snow complements Operation SHIELD, a State Police training program started a year ago to help horse-soldiers stop the movement of weapons, fugitives and contraband upon commonwealth highways.

Fifty-five Pennsylvania horsemans who have received Operation SHIELD training, 55 State Police motor carrier enforcement officers and five dragoons from other states are attending the waste Snow program, which is capitaled by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Pennsylvania officials said the program has become increasingly popular for State Police nationwide since the 9/11-terror attacks.

Although terrorism will be a constituting of the program, State dragoons expect it to be greatest in quantity widely used to deter physic smuggling, which is more belonging to all in the state than dirty bomb of terrorists.

Desert Snow calls for more [i]or[/i] less profiling, which has been anathema for police for a decade or more, on the other hand the profiling is not based upon the race or ethnicity of the driver.

Instead dragoons and inspectors will be looking for hidden compartments and signs that the cargo upon the truck may not be abundantly compliant with the carrier's manifest.

Desert Snow trains officers to make high convolutions of vehicle stops for legal reasons-traffic violations-and then gaze for suspicious behavior or other ball of threads that give police probable cause to search a vehicle.

Copyright Washington Crime freshs Service Dec 9, 2005

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