Vicksburg police hosted a two-day training session this week that drew dozens of officers from around the region, and the department is hoping to increase the training sessions offered locally.

About 45 officers from Mississippi and Louisiana attended the free training sessions about conducting roadside interviews held Tuesday and Wednesday at Hinds Community College, Police Chief Walter Armstrong said.

Among the trainees were VPD officers and Warren County deputies.

The class was taught by representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and was sponsored by Hinds, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Gulf Coast High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.

“We seek out free training all the time to help with the budget,” Armstrong said.

More officers were registered for the training, which began Tuesday morning, but many were unable to attend because of storms across the region, he said.

“A lot of them couldn’t get down Interstate 20 because of the weather,” Armstrong said.

Though they won’t get the same class as was taught this week, plenty of officers will have a chance to come to Vicksburg for training, Armstrong said

“We plan to do this more often. We’re going to use the city auditorium,” he said.

The most recent course covered how to conduct roadside interviews with traffic violators by effectively communicating throughout a traffic stop while being able to detect deception.

‘It’s very useful training. It deals with awareness of who we are dealing with from an officer’s safety standpoint,” Armstrong said. “This helps make the officers more aware of people and what to look for. I feel like the training was very beneficial.”