BATTLE CREEK, Mich. –
The Defense Logistics Agency Disposition Services’ Law Enforcement Support Office conducted its annual training conference in August, and as with everything this year, it was a little different.
With federal travel restrictions in place, the LESO staff, guest speakers and state-level customers the standard conference model with a virtual one using conference calls with PowerPoint presentations sent provided in advance to attendees.
DLA Disposition Services Director Mike Cannon told attendees the hard work of everyone involved with the program it has led to improvements over the past five years. He reminded them that the program is evolving, so the conference was a good place to keep up with the changes.
“We had 98 participants representing 50 states and territories,” said Brett Johnson, the LESO branch chief.
“The state coordinators and state points of contacts among those participants were told how to enroll an eligible law enforcement agency into the 1033 program, how to requisition property, return items to LESO, and how to transfer property from one law enforcement agency to another.,”
Johnson said another focus area was the inner workings of property accounting . He said that information targeted property officers and covered the proper way to operate within the Federal Excess Property Management Information System .
Program compliance reviews were also covered in a session, articulating “the dos and the don’ts, the required policies and procedures,” he said.
To limit chatter on the phone lines during sessions, conference attendees could email questions. When the sessions ended, questions would be read for everyone and then answered.
In Arkansas, James Ray is the state point of contact and works in Arkansas’ law enforcement standards and training. He said this was his seventh or eighth LESO conference.
“It’s always good to refresh your memory on the requirements and talk with your fellow states and learn how things are being done and their best practices,” Ray said. “The rules change and I think it’s great to meet often to keep up to date on all the requirements for the states.”
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More information on the LESO program can be found on the LESO webpage including the most frequently asked questions.