Upcoming ECLEF-Supported Training
ECLEF is proud to work with other law enforcement agencies and allied organizations to provide training at no cost to law enforcement agencies.
Tuesday, May 26, 2026
8:00am - 4:00pm
Conference Room – Salvatore Dining Commons
5795 Lewiston Rd.
Niagara University, NY 14109
Course Description:
This course is designed for law enforcement involved in crime gun investigations (detectives, agents, and gang officers), as well as arson and post-blast investigators.
Attendees will learn how to spot overlooked opportunities and obtain reliable admissions to strengthen cases for prosecution. Throughout the course, short video clips from actual interviews will be incorporated with role playing scenarios (optional) and case law references to facilitate learning. Upon completion, the attendee will be able to add these skills as a component of crime gun intelligence (CGI) methods & investigative techniques.
Course Topics Include:
Rapport Simplified with Career Criminals (including trigger-pullers, armed illegal aliens, drug dealers, serial arsonists, and bomb-makers)
How to Recognize a Suspect's "Cooperation Bait"
Miranda Matters: How to Spot Overlooked Opportunities
How to Pass the Ultimate Test of Voluntary Suspect Statements
Strategic Bluffs to Elicit the Truth
Boxed in by Lies (the "False-X Factor'' and use of provable lies)
Situational Themes, De-escalation, and the CSI Effect
Gathering the Elements of the Offense & Covering the Legal
Defenses
Recording / Report Writing for the prosecutor audience
Using NESS technology to identify shooters, armed violent
offenders and their sources of crime guns
Using tactical intelligence to focus on repeat violent offender threats
Spotting solvability factors in gun casework
The Strategic Use of Federal firearms, explosives, and arson laws
Removing Dangerous and Repeat Offenders from the Community
Closing and Trial Readiness
Instructor: ATF Special Agent Dino Balos is a 28‐year federal law enforcement officer. He is a certified ATF instructor who has investigated hundreds of firearms, explosives, and arson cases -- many of which were supported by reliable confessions as evidence -- and has testified concerning confessions or admissions made to him as part of the prosecution's case-in-chief. S/A Balos is currently assigned to ATF Headquarters - Office of Intelligence Operations (Firearms Operations Division) in Washington, DC. Other duty assignments include the ATF Tampa Field Division, ATF Boston Field Division’s Arson & Explosives Group, and the U.S. Bomb Data Center. Prior to ATF, he was a special agent at the Office of Inspector General investigating fraud, waste, and abuse in programs administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.