ST. MARTIN PARISH, La (KLFY) – 20 police officers from the Jamaica Constabulary Force and 10 corrections officers from the Department of Correctional Services are in day 3 of 4 of defensive tactic’s instructor training, a course that will enable them to take their talents back home and teach others.

The 40-hour tactical training session is being held this week at the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Training Facility.

“These instructors then will go back and provide defensive tactic’s training to their 10,000 officers in the nation of Jamaica,” said Howard Webb, Executive Director of the American Counsel of Criminal Justice Training.

Webb says he’s been teaching these classes for 25 years and says it’s an honor to work with these officers.

“These Jamaican officers they’re probably the most motivated group I’ve ever taught,” said Webb.

Team leader, Dave Foreman, says there’s a great need for the officers to want to learn these new tactics, and says the class is just very refreshing.

“It is more scenario based than our use of force back home,” said Foreman, and a wealth of knowledge is being dropped on the officers as they near the end of the course.

“Standard control holds, handcuffing techniques, and self-defense techniques,” said Webb.

Foreman says this training will definitely pay off in the long run.

“We use to practice some unrealistic techniques and I think these techniques now will widen the scope,” said Foreman.

St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman, Maj. Ginny Higgins, says the overall course is just good exposure for the deputies to experience another view of law enforcement from a foreign country.