Gwinnett Daily Post

ATLANTA -- Two local law enforcement officials recently returned from a trip to Israel, where they studied best practices in counterterrorism, emergency management and other types of public safety and homeland security strategies.

Buford resident Henry E. Henderson Jr., chief of law enforcement for the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and DeKalb County Police Chief William O'Brien of Dacula spent two weeks training with Israeli police through the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange.

They traveled as members of a delegation of 14 Georgia public safety officials.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, GILEE has provided more than 800 senior law enforcement officials worldwide critical knowledge in current public safety practices through more than 200 peer-to-peer training exchanges.

"The GILEE exchange program shows everyone how to do the right things on a broader scale," said Reginald "Ray" Moore, special agent in charge of the U.S. Secret Service, Atlanta field office. "In law enforcement, we are one big family. We can't do it by ourselves. GILEE builds relationships on an international level."

GILEE was founded prior to Atlanta's Centennial Olympic Games as a join program between Georgia State University and Georgia's law enforcement community.