Teen dating violence, also known as adolescent relationship abuse, is a serious, widespread issue that has both short- and long-term consequences. Teen dating violence may occur in-person or electronically and consists of physical, psychological, or sexual abuse, as well as stalking. A study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), found that “8 percent of high school students reported physical violence and 7 percent reported that they experienced sexual violence from a dating partner in the 12 months before the survey.” The CDC also noted that teenagers who experience dating violence are more prone to depression and anxiety, may turn to using tobacco, drugs, and alcohol, and are more at risk of victimization in adulthood.
For more information and to learn about strategies for decreasing the prevalence of teen dating violence, check out the following resources:
- CDC’s Intimate Partner Violence Webpages
- Dating Matters®: Strategies to Promote Healthy Teen Relationships
- CDC’s Technical Packages for Violence Prevention
- National Criminal Justice Reference Service’s list of federal and federally supported resources, including information on sexual violence from the Office on Violence Against Women and resources for child welfare professionals from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
- National Resource Center on Domestic Violence’s Online Special Collection: Preventing and Responding to Teen Dating Violence, which emphasizes collaborative and multilevel approaches to the prevention of and response to teen violence and includes resources for youth, parents, educators, health care professionals, and more.
Join Justice Clearinghouse for their webinar “Youth Homelessness and Juvenile Justice: Supporting Youth Across Systems” on February 20, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. ET. Studies show 78 percent of adolescents who have suffered from homelessness have also had at least one encounter with law enforcement. Of these young adults, 44 percent have found themselves in a jail or detention center. This webinar will take a closer look at the relation between homelessness and interaction with law enforcement.
Attendees will learn about the resources available to communities in assisting adolescents suffering from homelessness and at risk of legal punishment. With guidance from the newly reauthorized Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, attendees will also learn how to ensure young adults in the justice system find safe and stable housing.
Naomi Smoot, current Executive Director of the Coalition for Juvenile Justice, will present at the webinar.
Join Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) on April 3, 2020 at 2:00 p.m. EST for a webinar on targeting offenders and creating targeted offender lists. The webinar will feature a panel of experienced researchers and law enforcement professionals who will dive into best practices for implementation, including considering the following questions:
- How can agencies ensure that offender lists are legally justifiable?
- What are effective strategies for working with local community leaders on offender identification programs?
- How can agencies use multiple data sources most effectively to inform offender identification strategies?
- How can agencies work effectively with a research partner to expand data analysis capacity to identify offenders?
- How can agencies ensure sufficient leadership buy-in to maintain sustainability?
Panelists will include Tom Woodmansee, a PSN law enforcement advisor, Dr. Scott Decker, law enforcement research expert, and representatives from the Tampa, Florida Police Department and the department’s research partner.
Register for the webinar and submit a question for the panelists today!
For more information, view this event in the TTA Catalog.
Join the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) for their webinar “(PH)REAL: PHilosophy, Relationship, Equipping, Attitude and Leadership” on February 19, 2020 at 1 pm ET. This interactive webinar will explore qualities of effective current and future leaders in every level of a correctional organization. Attendees will learn how to excel as leaders, flourish in their own management styles, positively contribute, and develop necessary skills to succeed within the organizational structure and in line with the organization’s mission.
This webinar is designed for current and future leaders of federal, state, or local correctional facilities. NIC recommends that sites with multiple attendees consider registering and viewing the webinar together to facilitate implementation of the webinar content.
Attendees will hear from Lefford L. Fate, retired United States Air Force Command Chief of the 20th Fighter Wing, and Support Services Director for the City of Sumter, South Carolina.
Join the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) and the National Center for School Safety on Wednesday, January 29, at 1 p.m. ET for a webinar on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 Student, Teachers, and Officers Preventing (STOP) School Violence Program funding opportunity.
The FY 2019 STOP School Violence Grant Program seeks to improve school security by equipping students and teachers with the tools they need to recognize, respond to, and hopefully help prevent acts of violence. The goal of the program is to implement training and school threat assessments and/or intervention teams to detect the risk of school violence; technological solutions, such as an app, website, or hotline that can assist with providing anonymous reporting tips; or other strategies to help thwart school violence.
Register for the STOP School Violence 2019 BJA Solicitation webinar.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) National Public Safety Partnership (PSP) invites researchers and practitioners with expertise in criminal justice and violence reduction to submit presentation proposals for the tentatively-planned 2020 PSP Symposium on Violent Crime that will take place in Tulsa, Oklahoma on August 31–September 2. Presentations will be featured during 90-minute breakout sessions at this invitation-only event.
Proposals may focus on an array of emerging criminal justice issues, such as crime analysis, gun violence and intervention, youth violence, sexual assault, witness intimidation, police-community relations, technology, victim services, mental health, and opioid abuse and related violence — just to name a few. Proposals should include a title, description, speaker name(s), speaker biographies, as well as the planned structure of the session, and should be no more than 1,000 words.
DOJ’s PSP leadership will review proposals and choose topics based on each site’s priorities following the symposium’s approval. If selected, travel reimbursement for non-federal speakers may be sponsored through grant funding to PSP training and technical assistance providers.
The deadline to submit your presentation proposal to the PSP team at info@PSPartnership.org is March 2, 2020.
For more information on appropriate topics, proposal requirements, or the selection process, or if you have any additional questions, please contact PSP team members Carolyn Binder at cbinder@iir.com or Kristy Colella at kcolella@iir.com.
The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) Training and Technical Assistance Center (TTAC) offers a variety of resources to support communities in their efforts to prepare a response to incidents of mass violence.
OVC TTAC’s Mass Violence Toolkit contains information on best practices for responding to victims of mass violence and terrorism throughout each of the three response phases — the Partnerships and Planning phase, the Response phase, and the Recovery phase. OVC TTAC also features a webinar series that builds upon and supplements the information in the toolkit that is available to view anytime.
Visit OVC TTAC’s Mass Violence and Terrorism Resource page for additional information on responding to mass violence incidents.
The upcoming “Victim Counsel Coordination” webinar — hosted by the Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys — has been rescheduled from this Friday, January 10, 2020 from 3:00–4:00 p.m. ET to Tuesday, January 14, 2020 from 3:00–4:00 p.m. ET.
As the final installment in the Association of Prosecuting Attorney’s Capital Litigation Improvement Project webinar series, “Victim Counsel Coordination” will feature Randy Udelman from the Arizona Crime Victim Rights Law Group as the presenter.
Mr. Udelman will present on victim counsel coordination and offer a sample start-to-finish hypothetical case based on real facts—illustrating how to effectively meet victim needs in capital case prosecution.
This webinar is part of the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys’ Capital Litigation Improvement Project webinar series.
By Christina Mariscal, Deputy Project Director, Bureau of Justice Assistance National Training and Technical Assistance Center
In 2019, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the addition of 10 new sites to the National Public Safety Partnership (PSP) program. Participation in PSP offers select cities and their allied criminal justice partners with an unparalleled opportunity to receive coordinated training and technical assistance (TTA) and resources from various law enforcement and programmatic components within DOJ. Each site receives TTA that is responsive to their unique needs and focuses on long-term sustainability. Through PSP, sites receive the resources and support necessary to combat violent crime and enhance public safety for the future.
The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) National Training and Technical Assistance Center (NTTAC) is one of several paths that PSP sites receive tailored TTA. BJA NTTAC has developed specialized TTA programs to quickly respond to requests by identifying gaps and needs and providing recommendations in specific topic areas, including:
- Crime Analysis on Demand. This program enhances an agency’s ability to analyze and use data to make informed decisions, respond effectively, and prevent crime. For example, the Nashville, Tennessee PSP site requested technical assistance to develop the technical capacity of eight precinct-level crime analyst for patrol (CAP) officers in the use of geographic information system (GIS) mapping software. The support included creating hot spot maps for high-crime areas, developing an improved understanding of other uses for GIS and crime analysis, and leveraging crime analysis for tactical use. Subject expert Stewart Bruce conducted the technical assistance onsite in Nashville, customizing the TTA using local crime data to meet the needs of the eight CAP officers.
- Prosecution Assessment TTA Program. The Prosecution Assessment TTA Program focuses on assessing the capacity of prosecutors’ offices to prosecute violent crime and identifying the strengths, gaps, and adjustments needed to enhance results. For example, when the Memphis PSP site requested an assessment of their overall operational practices, BJA NTTAC partnered with the Prosecutors’ Center for Excellence to provide an in-depth examination of their existing prosecutorial practices and make recommendations to enable the office to implement best practices within the field.
- Technology Initiatives Assessment TTA Program. The focus of this program is to evaluate an agency’s technical resources and abilities, provide actionable recommendations to enhance their technology-driven initiatives, and train personnel. For example, the Toledo, Ohio PSP site requested assistance with developing its staffing capabilities and identifying strategies to better operationalize various data sources. BJA NTTAC partnered with Maggie Goodrich of LE Innovations, Inc., who conducted an onsite assessment to develop a series of recommendations ranging from general IT support and planning, to patrol and vehicle technology and academy training. Equipped with these strategies, the Toledo PSP site is one step closer to achieving its goal of developing a virtual crime center to help address violent crime in the community.
Increasing public safety is a department-wide effort that encompasses many programs, offices, and projects. BJA NTTAC’s support to the PSP sites is an integral part of DOJ’s commitment to ensuring public safety throughout the country. Although there are certain cities designated to receive support through PSP, the initiative also upholds DOJ’s larger mission of reducing violent crime and making the nation a safer place for everyone. The overarching goal is to decrease violence and increase safety and BJA NTTAC is proud of its role in supporting this mission.
While we have learned so much by working with the PSP cities, you do not have to be a part of the PSP in order to request BJA NTTAC services. We are committed to providing no-cost training and specialized guidance on a wide variety of criminal justice topics, including crime prevention, mental health, and adjudication. We take the time to understand the specific justice-related needs of the agency requesting help and match that need with the right expert to provide the training or specialized guidance.
If you are interested in any of the TTA described above or have other TTA needs, please reach out to BJA NTTAC today!
If your jurisdiction is in need of training or technical assistance related to violence reduction, or if you know of a community that would benefit from this type of assistance, please contact BJA NTTAC at BJANTTAC@ojp.usdoj.gov. You may also contact the Violence Reduction Response Center — DOJ’s one-stop shop for connecting state, local, and tribal justice agencies with the most appropriate violent crime reduction TTA resources available — at ViolenceReduction@usdoj.gov or 1-833-872-5174.
If you are interested in submitting the work of your organization or jurisdiction for consideration in a future blog post or in obtaining information related to a particular topic area, please email us at BJANTTAC@ojp.usdoj.gov.
Points of view or opinions on BJA NTTAC’s TTA Today blog are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice, BJA, or BJA NTTAC.
The National Criminal Justice Training Center of Fox Valley Technical College is hosting a classroom training in Mayetta, Kansas on February 26, 2020 to share resources and best practices needed to support quick and critical responses to reports of missing, abducted, and sexually exploited children.
This training is primarily for front-line telecommunications personnel, telecommunications supervisors and directors, and front-line law enforcement officers. However, emergency management and law enforcement personnel, law enforcement support, and tribes/tribal partners may also benefit from this training.
There is no cost to attend, but participants must pre-register by January 15, 2020. Late registrations prior to the day of the event may be accepted if space permits.
For questions, please contact Jim Walters at askamber@fvtc.edu