Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers FLETC

Before 1970, each federal agency trained its own officers, often in makeshift facilities. The Consolidated Federal Law Enforcement Training Center was established that year under the Treasury Department to provide shared training, and in 1975 it moved to a former naval air station at Glynco, near Brunswick, Georgia, which remains its headquarters. It became part of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003 and is led by a Director.

FLETC trains tens of thousands of students a year for more than 125 partner organizations, including the Border Patrol, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Secret Service, inspectors general, the Park Police, and federal agencies' uniformed police. Basic programs cover criminal law, firearms, defensive tactics, and high-speed driving, and advanced courses range from cybercrime to counterterrorism. Besides Glynco, it runs campuses in Artesia, New Mexico, Charleston, South Carolina, and Cheltenham, Maryland, and supports international training academies abroad.

Some large agencies, including the FBI and the Drug Enforcement Administration, train their agents separately at Quantico, Virginia, rather than at FLETC. In 2025, as Congress funded a large expansion of immigration enforcement, FLETC accelerated training for thousands of new officers, and changes to course length drew scrutiny. Officials said the adjustments removed redundant material without lowering standards, while some former instructors and lawmakers questioned whether shorter training would leave new officers less prepared.