Working with Victims in Cold Hit DNA Cases
September 13, 2012 Hear from a law enforcement professional and a victim advocate team about their work with sexual assault survivors in cold hit DNA cases.
Untested Sexual Assault Kits: Improving the Response to Victims Through Research and Technical Assistance
June 27, 2012
Hear experts discuss methods used to improve the field's response to victims after a sexual assault kit backlog has been discovered.
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Arrestee DNA Testing: Preventing
Crime and Saving Lives
November 9, 2011
Hear
Jayann Sepich speak about the importance of DNA
arrestee legislation. Learn how passing state legislation that
enables law enforcement to collect DNA from felony arrestees can
prevent crime, solve cases, and provide protection to the innocent.
This session also addresses privacy and funding issues.
Familial DNA
Searching
October 24, 2011
Hear Denver, Colorado District Attorney
Mitch Morrisey
discuss the benefits and challenges of familial DNA searching and
how this technology has resulted in successful identifications and
convictions. Mr. Morrisey also discusses some of the major
misconceptions and limitations regarding this practice.
Denver's Burglary DNA Project:
Catching Criminals and Serving Victims
September 12, 2011
Hear District Attorney
Mitch Morrissey describe the elements
of Denver's Burglary DNA Project and elaborate on the program's
successes. Learn about the significant drop in the burglary rate
after the program's implementation, and the annual savings it brings
to the citizens of Denver.
Steve Siegel, Director, Special Programs Unit, Denver Colorado, presents information about
the impact of burglary on victims and the types of services
available.
Local DNA Databases: The Power to
Solve and Prevent More Crime
August 23, 2011 Chris Asplen, Vice President, Gordon Thomas Honeywell Governmental Affairs, and Sergeant
William McVey, Criminal Investigations Unit, Bensalem Police Department (PA), speak about the power of using local DNA
databases to more efficiently investigate and solve crime, in
particular property and drug crime. Learn how one police department
uses drug forfeiture money to pay for its DNA program, which
increases drug convictions while generating even more drug
forfeiture funds. Our program will show how local databases can
provide DNA match data directly to police officers, making
investigations more efficient and ultimately reducing crime.
Supporting Survivors After an
Exoneration
July 7, 2011 Monica Urbaniak, MS, LMFT-S, Sexual Assault Therapist, Dallas Area Rape Crisis Center, speaks about the profound impact of DNA exonerations
and wrongful convictions on survivors of crime. Our presenter will
share her experience working with survivors in cases that result in
DNA (and other) exonerations and provide tips and tools for
providing support throughout the post-conviction and exoneration
process.
Using DNA in Non-Stranger Sexual
Assault Cases
April 28, 2011
Most victim advocates are familiar with the importance
of using DNA in stranger rape cases, but many may not understand how
DNA can be used effectively in court in non-stranger sexual
assault cases. Learn from
Patti Powers, Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, Yakima County Prosecutor's Office, the prosecutor's perspective why we should be paying attention
to forensic evidence in sexual assault cases when consent is the
defense.
Working Cold Cases 101: Two Case
Studies
December 1, 2010
Learn from a 35-year law enforcement veteran and cold
case investigator Sergeant
Mike Huff, Homicide Unit Supervisor, Tulsa Police
Department (co-founder, International Association of Cold Case
Investigators), about solving cold cases and homicide
investigation. Sgt. Huff will present two cases to explore
best practices and ways to prevent cases from going cold. Hear about
the formation and mission of the International Association of Cold
Case Investigators.
Working with Victims in Cold
Cases
October 28, 2010
Scott Snow, Director, and Sarah Chaikin, Cold Case Coordinator, Denver Police Department Victim Assistance Unit speak about emerging promising practices regarding
interaction and service provision for cold case victims, co-victims,
and their families, as established in the Victim Assistance Unit of
the Denver Police Department (DPD). Learn about interacting
sensitively and respectfully with victims in cold cases while
obtaining needed information. Presenters will also discuss the
history and formation of the DPD cold case victim services unit, the
first full-time law enforcement-based cold case victim service
program of its kind in the country.
Forensic Nurse Examiners: Beyond
Sexual Assault Examinations
September 29, 2010
Most victim advocates are familiar with the role of
the sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE), but many may not know
about the unique work of a forensic nurse examiner (FNE). This
webinar, presented by
Jennifer Pierce-Weeks, Manager, Forensic Nurse Examiner Program, Memorial Hospital, Colorado Springs, Colorado, aims to increase understanding about the work of FNEs and
collection of evidence in domestic violence, child abuse, elder
abuse, and other crimes. Through this webinar victim service
providers and other participants will become familiar with the
importance of the medical forensic exam for DNA collection in crimes
other than sexual assault and why having such trained examiners is
important to survivors.
Victims' Rights and Services
During Post-Conviction and Exoneration Proceedings
August 25, 2010
This webinar will increase the capacity of victim
service providers and allied professionals to support victims in
post-conviction and DNA exoneration proceedings. Participants will
learn about the profound impact of exonerations on survivors.
Meg Garvin, Executive Director, National Crime Victim Law Institute and
Chris Jenkins, Victim Witness Coordinator, Dallas County District Attorney's Office, discuss what those who work with victims need to
know about victims' needs and services and which victims' rights
could apply in post-conviction DNA testing cases.
Using DNA Evidence to Solve
Missing Persons, Homicide, and Trafficking Cases
August 11, 2010 Art Eisenberg, PhD, University of North Texas Center for Human Identification; Officer G.W. Adams, University of North Texas Health Science Center Police Department; and
B.J. Spamer, University of North Texas Center for Human Identification, Forensic Services Unit, present an overview of the
University of North Texas's human identification program and how
they are using DNA and the national DNA database to bring closure to
missing persons and homicide cases. Participants will learn
what law enforcement, victim service providers, and other
professionals can do to provide guidance to families of missing
loved ones. Presenters will discuss innovative uses of DNA to
prevent human trafficking.
DNA and Crime Victims National Conference
May 13-14, 2010
Indianapolis, Indiana
Presented by the DNA Resource Center of the National Center for Victims of Crime and the Office for Victims of Crime, U.S. Department of Justice
- The
Big Picture: Maximizing the Potential of DNA
Technology - Chris Asplen, Vice President, Government Affairs, Gordon Thomas Honeywell
- DNA
and CODIS 101 - Bryan Good and Melissa Meyers, Indiana State Police, Indianapolis Regional Laboratory
- DNA
Evidence in Sexual Assault Cases: A Victim
Advocate, SANE, and Prosecutor Share
Perspectives -
Jacqueline Callari-Robinson, SANE, Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual
Assault; Norm Gahn, Assistant District Attorney, Milwaukee, WI; Brandi Watson, Sexual Assault Program Coordinator, Albion Fellows Bacon Center
- Working
with Victims in Cold Cases - Sarah Chaikin, Victim Services, Denver Police Department; Diane Alexander, Justice Solutions
- Victims' Rights and Services during Post-conviction
and Exoneration Proceedings - Debbie Jones, Survivor; Chris Jenkins, Victim Witness, Coordinator, Dallas County District Attorney's Office; Mike Corley, Assistant Chief, Richardson Police Department
Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners
and Victim Sensitive Evidence Collection
March 2, 2010
This webinar aims to increase understanding about the
role Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs) play in the proper
collection of forensic evidence and in providing a supportive and
empowering response to survivors. Participants will learn from
Kim Day, RN, FNE A/P, SANE-A, Safe Technical Assistance Coordinator For the International Association of Forensic Nurses (IAFN);
Jacqui Callari Robinson, RN, SANE-A, Director Prevention and Health Care Service, Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault, about how
SANEs increase the probability of obtaining probative DNA evidence
while minimizing trauma for survivors and how the involvement of
SANEs increase prosecution rates.
Recovering Forensic DNA Evidence
from Crime Scenes
February 25, 2010
Retired Detective Sergeant
Joe Blozis covers best-practice strategies for
conducting quality crime scene investigation, collecting,
documenting, packaging, transporting, and storing biological and
touch DNA evidence as well as providing court testimony. The
speaker, retired senior sergeant in the NYPD Crime Scene Unit, will
cover evidence collection in burglary cases and discuss "touch DNA."
DNA 101: Demystifying CODIS and
DNA Profiles for Victim Service Providers
February 8, 2010
This webinar will increase the capacity of victim
service providers to provide victims with informed and sensitive
guidance related to matters involving forensic DNA. Through this
webinar, victim service providers and other participants will become
familiar with the forensic DNA testing process and how forensic DNA
profiles are generated from evidence and matched through the
Combined DNA Index System (CODIS). Angelo Della Manna, Chief of Forensic Biology & DNA, Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences explains how
CODIS functions in forensic crime laboratories in the United States,
its architecture, eligibility requirements for DNA samples
(offender, crime scene, missing persons), and describe the various
types of DNA analysis that can be performed in crime labs. He will
also address concerns about genetic privacy, including what
information forensic DNA profiles contain and who is authorized by
federal law to have access to the national database.
A Prosecutor's Perspective on
Innovative Uses of DNA
January 14, 2010 Mitch Morrissey, District Attorney, Denver, Colorado, covers the innovative uses of
forensic DNA being employed by prosecutors and police in Denver,
Colorado. Participants will learn about collecting DNA evidence in
property crimes; using "John Doe warrants" to prevent the statute of
limitations from running out; investigating cold cases based on DNA
hits and techniques for interrogating suspects in such cases; and
generating investigative leads by searching DNA databases for "close
matches" that might be relatives of an unknown offender.
Solving Property Crimes with Forensic DNA
December 9, 2009
Retired Detective Sergeant
Joe Blozis and
Mitch Morrisey, Denver District Attorney present on two innovative programs: in
New York City and Denver, where DNA evidence is being regularly
collected and tested in burglary cases. Burglary is a highly
recidivistic crime, and one that can be a "gateway" to violent
crimes. The speakers will discuss the successes of these programs
and what is required to expand your jurisdiction's use of DNA to
property crimes.