The annual Lyon County Sheriff’s Office spring training seminar is underway on the Lyon County Fairgrounds.
According to Lyon County Detective Corporal Eric Williams, this year’s seminar had more than 210 law enforcement officers representing more than 90 agencies from across the state of Kansas this year. The three-day seminar includes lectures, training and demonstrations for several prevalent topics within the law enforcement profession.
Williams says one of the key topics this year is interdiction, which is a proactive, intelligence-driven form of intercepting and disrupting drug or contraband transportation as well as human trafficking operations on major highways, borders, or shipping channels. Williams says this is a very important tool in an officer’s arsenal of detection, as it helps to differentiate between potential tells of criminal behavior and normal anxiety or nervousness that civilians exhibit when engaging with law enforcement.
Other notable topics for the week’s event include Amber alerts, blue alerts, K9 procedures, cryptocurrency crimes and more.
While the education is robust and informative, Williams says a big part of the seminar each year is the connections and networking it provides to law enforcement agencies across the state. He says you never know, a simple interaction at a seminar in Emporia could make a major difference in a case down the road.
Williams adds that the interactions among officers and agents are refreshing and eye-opening as attendees are able to see that many of the issues they face in their communities are more universal than they may have originally thought.
The training seminar is held every year in the second week of April. This year’s event began Tuesday and will conclude Thursday.
