Dr. Wells Offers Cutting-Edge Research to Law Enforcement

Dr. Bill Wells is in the unique position of linking law enforcement leaders to cutting-edge research in the field of policing at the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas (LEMIT).

“This is an extremely unique position for an academic to hold,” said Dr. Wells, who recently was named Director of Research for LEMIT. “We get to interface and work very closely with police departments and with the academic discipline for research that will benefit the field. Agencies in Texas truly are interested in learning from research to enhance practice. This generates new information that can benefit the profession.”

One of the main roles of LEMIT is to respond to the needs of law enforcement in Texas. By partnering with faculty from the world-renown College of Criminal Justice at Sam Houston State University, LEMIT is at the forefront of helping to answer important questions in the criminal justice field.

This year, LEMIT is embarking on a new study to assess efforts to train officers to respond to victims of sexual assault and domestic violence at the Houston Police Department. The project will involve the Crime Victims’ Institute at SHSU, which studies the impact of crime on victims, their friends, families, and society and makes policy recommendations to the Texas Legislature and victim advocacy groups. The new research comes on the heels of a National Institute of Justice-funded project to study and respond to unanalyzed sexual assault kits in Houston. Dr. Wells and SHSU served as the lead research partner on the federally-funded project.

LEMIT also is examining factors related to Texas Police Chief turnover through a study by Ph.D. student Yudu Li. Those results will be released shortly.

In addition to generating new research, Dr. Wells strives to keep Texas law enforcement leaders up-to-date on the latest developments on emerging issues in policing, which are presented in classes offered at LEMIT and provided as briefings online. Among the recent topics explored are the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing; Body-Worn Cameras; Evidence-Based Policing; 10 Hour Shifts and Sleep Deprivation; Eyewitness Identification Procedures; and Procedurally-Fair Policing. More information, including research reports, are available on LEMIT’s Web site at http://www.lemitonline.org/research/issues.html.

“We can help find and translate research for practitioners,” said Dr. Wells.

Another new issue that was presented during the 2016 Texas Major Cities Police Chief Leadership Series, which represents chiefs in cities with more than 100,000 population, is Blue Courage. Blue Courage is a philosophy that embodies the noblest of character and unquestionable devotion in all aspect of life, by acting with practical wisdom, exuding vitality, and heartening human connection. It is now offered to all chiefs and command staff at LEMIT.

Dr. Wells joined the faculty at Sam Houston State University in 2007 and recently was appointed as Chai of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at the College of Criminal Justice. The Department was named the #1 program in the country for faculty publications and offers a broad array of expertise in criminal justice and victim studies.

“It is a natural complement,” said Dr. Wells. “Through my interactions with the networks of LEMIT, we can share and provide information to the field on what the Department is doing. We can communicate information on the latest research in the field.”

CVI Report Explores Police Responses to Human Trafficking

In an ongoing effort to provide information about human trafficking to the criminal justice community, the Crime Victims’ Institute published its most recent report on police responses to human trafficking. Information about human trafficking is an important first step in the identification of cases, as previous research has found that very few police departments have investigated cases of human trafficking. A significant barrier to the identification of these cases is the misperception among law enforcement that human trafficking is not a problem in their communities.

In 2013, the National Human Trafficking Hotline received reports of trafficking from all 50 states and the District of Columbia and estimated that 60,100 people were enslaved in labor and sex trafficking nationwide. But few departments recognize the problem or have specialized officers to investigate cases.

“Police Responses to Human Trafficking” identified several challenges facing police in the recognition of human trafficking cases. Among these are the evolving legal definitions of human trafficking, a lack of public support for adult victims, a shortage of training on the issue, few specialists in the area, the ineffectiveness of traditional crime control tactics, and lack of organizational structure to support investigation of human trafficking. Prosecutors have faced similar problems in taking these cases to court and, as a result, few traffickers have been charged with the crime.

According to Jurek who authored the report, one of the effective ways to address these crimes is through the use of task forces, which combine the resources of law enforcement and social service agencies. As an example, the Federal Bureau of Investigation initiated Operation Cross Country in 2003, an annual event where the agency partners with local, state and federal agencies to identify, investigate and prosecute human trafficking cases. These operations target truck stops, casinos, street tracks and escort websites for prostitution offenses, which help to identify trafficking organizations.

In 2015, Operation Cross Country involved more than 500 law enforcement officers in 135 cities across the country and resulted in the identification of 149 child victims of sex trafficking and the arrest of 150 exploiters. Victims received crisis intervention and basic resources through the FBI’s Office of Victim Assistance.

“Law enforcement responses to human trafficking have faced significant challenges at both the individual officer and agency level, but advances in police education and training, organizational policy, and collaboration with the social services sector may facilitate more proactive and positive responses to human trafficking,” said Jurek, a second year Ph.D. student in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Sam Houston State University.

“Police responses to Human Trafficking” is the fifth issue in a special series published by the Crime Victims’ Institute that has provided an overview of the multifaceted nature of human trafficking in the United States and internationally. Edited by Dr. Cortney Franklin, series issues, including “Police Response to Human Trafficking” are available from the Crime Victims’ Institute at http://www.crimevictimsinstitute.org/publications/.

For more information about the issue, visit the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (trafficking resourcecenter.org), call the FBI at 1-800-225-5324, or download a model law enforcement policy on human trafficking at http://www.iacp.org/portals/0/pdfs/CompleteHTGuide.pdf