The nation’s top law enforcement leaders emphasized coordination and communication between federal, state, local, and international agencies in remarks today to more than 250 law enforcement officers from 49 states and 35 foreign countries who were graduating from the FBI’s National Academy.

Attorney General William P. Barr joined FBI Director Christopher Wray on Friday in Quantico, Virginia, to ceremonially mark the end of 10 weeks of rigorous training for students in the 276th session of the National Academy, a professional course of study for senior-level law enforcement managers. The highly selective program is held on the same campus where new FBI special agents and intelligence analysts are trained to investigate threats in the U.S. and around the world.

“The gravest threats to society today—terrorism, drug trafficking, human trafficking, cyber threats and even elder fraud—are increasingly national and even international in scope,” Barr said to the crowd of 256 graduating students and the families they haven't seen for more than two months. “This makes cooperation more important than ever. And it’s why the relationship and the shared understanding and the trust that are built here at the National Academy are also more important than ever.”