ICITAP Hits 35-Year Milestone and Continues Growing its Law Enforcement Capacity-Building Missions Around the Globe

On January 6, ICITAP celebrated its 35-year anniversary of working with foreign governments to develop professional and transparent law enforcement institutions that protect human rights, combat corruption, and reduce the threat of transnational crime and terrorism. See ICITAP’s Strategic Plan. As a result of Congress passing legislation to expand a waiver to Section 660 to include “programs to enhance investigative capabilities conducted under judicial or prosecutorial control,” Section 534(b)(3) of the Foreign Assistance Act authorized the establishment of ICITAP on January 6, 1986. The program was funded at $1.52 million for its first year and was originally managed from the Office of the Deputy Attorney General. ICITAP was originally established to help gain prosecutions in key human rights cases in El Salvador and to bolster the criminal investigative capacity of Latin American security forces. For the remainder of the 1980s, ICITAP provided training in criminal investigations, forensics, police management, and combating violent crime to established law enforcement agencies throughout the Western Hemisphere. Since 1986, ICITAP has strengthened national security by advancing U.S. law enforcement operations abroad through training, mentoring, and technical assistance in 110 countries worldwide. See ICITAP’s Historical Milestones. Despite the many challenges of COVID-19 during 2020, ICITAP experienced tremendous growth and its global force of 410 men and women currently lead and manage missions and projects in 62 countries. See ICITAP’s Global Presence Map. ICITAP works in close partnership with and receives funding for its programs from the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the U.S. Department of Defense.