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OJJDP Gang Program Coordinator Phelan Wyrick conducted gang prevention training at the International Law Enforcement Academy in San Salvador, El Salvador, January 29–February 2, 2007.

The training, focusing on sharing best practices and lessons learned in gang enforcement and prevention, was part of a larger effort by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement and the Department of Justice's Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training to work with Central American countries and Mexico to improve anti-gang activities, information sharing, and international cooperation. Participants included 55 law enforcement and prosecutorial leaders from Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and Panama. Training topics included trends in U.S., Mexican, and Central American gang organization, structure, and activities; interviewing, debriefing, and interrogating gang members; and managing gang members in prison. To eliminate language barriers, interpreters provided simultaneous translation throughout the training.

During the training, Dr. Wyrick described gang prevention and intervention findings and experiences gleaned from OJJDP's gang research and anti-gang demonstration projects over the past 12 years, including longitudinal research studies and the Six Site Comprehensive Anti-Gang Initiative announced by Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales in March 2006. Dr. Wyrick also moderated a discussion by a panel of gang prevention and intervention service providers from participating countries.