ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The National Sheriffs’ Association has announced a new Global Policing & Security Initiative aimed at building partnerships between America’s sheriffs and democratic policing organizations around the world.
The association says the effort will help sheriffs spot emerging threats earlier, share operational best practices, and prepare for transnational criminal activity that affects local communities.
NSA First Vice President Sheriff Jim Skinner of Collin County, Texas, will lead the initiative, which will operate as a subcommittee of the association’s Homeland Security Committee, chaired by Sheriff Paul Fitzgerald of Story County, Iowa. NSA also named Paul Goldenberg as executive advisor to the NSA president for homeland security and global partnerships.
The initiative will focus on threats such as transnational criminal organizations, human trafficking, cyber-enabled crime, malicious uses of artificial intelligence and the misuse of unmanned aerial systems. Planned components include:
- A Global Policing Partnership Program to formalize ties with allied democratic police agencies
- An Executive Leadership Exchange for reciprocal delegations between U.S. sheriffs and international policing executives
- Global Security Working Groups on border security, cybercrime, AI, human trafficking and transnational organized crime
- An Executive Education Series of forums, webinars, regional seminars and international study visits
- An annual NSA Global Policing & Security Summit
“Global cooperation is now essential to local public safety,” NSA President Sheriff Troy Wellman said in the announcement. NSA says the initiative will complement, not duplicate, existing partnerships among federal, state, local, tribal, territorial and international agencies.
For more information, visit the NSA website.
