The Maine arm of a national initiative aimed at combating gun violence hosted two days of training earlier this week.

The anti-gun violence training was held at the Maine Department of Public Safety in Augusta for more than 150 federal, state and local law enforcement community members in conjunction with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the FBI.

Project Safe Neighborhoods Maine sponsored the two-day sessions, which included: firearms identification and tracing; gun arrest investigations; federal firearms laws; an overview of the national gang picture and Maine gang trends; interviewing skills: and prison gangs and their nexus to street gangs.

Experts from federal law enforcement, corrections and prosecutor’s offices shared their expertise with representatives from more than 60 federal, state and local agencies.

Maine’s U.S. Attorney, Thomas Delahanty II, said the training sessions were well attended by all levels of government for a variety of public agencies. He said the training is expected to be held each year in order to “maintain a high level of awareness regarding Maine’s ongoing gang violence problem,” according to a press release.