Campus Crimes
LEMIT offers training on Oct 2-3 on investigating sex crimes, domestic violence and cyberbullying on public school and college campuses.
The two-day program, which will be held Oct. 2-3 at Sam Houston State University – The Woodlands Campus, will address violence crimes on campus, such as sexual assault, sex crimes, family violence, and cyberbullying, and provide tips on investigative techniques, evidence collection, report writing and interviewing techniques. The session is designed for law enforcement agencies, public school, university and college campus police. The fee for the course is $125.
“Now that we are seeing the gentrification of cities and the growth of social media, we are going to see more of an overlap of these crimes on campus,” said Det. Darcus Shorten of the Houston Homicide Division, Cold Case Squad. “We need to bring awareness to proper investigation of these cases.”
As a member of the Homicide Division since 1996, Det. Shorten’s first assignment was in the Family Violence Unit before she was accepted into the Murder Squad. She also spent five years in the Homicide Sex Crimes Unit. She plans to bring in a guest speaker to discuss cyberbullying, a serious crime plaguing campuses across the country. Det. Shorten will share techniques and lessons she has learned in investigating these cases.
The course will examine the history of sexual assault and the different types of crimes that may occur, including aggravated sexual assault, indecent exposure, improper videos and photos, and Peeping Toms. She also will guide participants in recognizing the signs of sex crimes and how to conduct forensic interviews with victims to avoid interrogations.
Det. Shorten will focus on processing crime scenes and collecting evidence. She will stress the importance of chain of custody to help preserve the case from crime scene through prosecution. She also will discuss DNA evidence and how the FBI's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) can be used to identify suspects.
For domestic violence cases, Det. Shorten will review the law on family violence and the proper procedures that can be used to identify an abusive relationship, including those involving boyfriends or girlfriends and same sex partners. The session will break down the characteristics of a batterer, and how power and control is used to maintain abusive relationship. A guest speaker will address the complex world of cyberbullying, and the role the internet is playing in spreading various crimes on campus.
The class also will provide an opportunity for participants to practice the skills they learn. On the second day of class, participants will team up to investigate mock crime scenes involving sexual assault and domestic violence. “You will have the tools in the first day,” said Det. Shorten. “On the second day, you are going to use those tools and play them out into action.”
For more information on Campus Crimes, contact Program Coordinator Yvette Shorten at (936) 294-3851 or a wys001@shsu.edu . To register for the course, click here
