For Immediate Release: 8/23/2017
Janine Kava | janine.kava@dcjs.ny.gov
Press Office, Division of Criminal Justice Services | (518) 457-8828 | (518) 275-5508
New York State sponsors two-day training symposium for crime analysts
Analysts from the state-supported network of Crime Analysis Centers and other law enforcement agencies attend training to enhance skills
New York State is hosting a two-day training designed to help crime analysts from across the state enhance their skills so they can better assist police and prosecutors with their efforts to solve and reduce crime. More than 80 analysts from local law enforcement agencies and the state-supported network of Crime Analysis Centers are attending the training, which began today and continues tomorrow at the State Preparedness Training Center in Oneida County.
The Division of Criminal Justice Services developed the training and oversees the Crime Analysis Center network in partnership with local law enforcement agencies. Located in Albany, Binghamton, Buffalo, Malone, Niagara Falls, Rochester, Syracuse and Utica, the eight Centers in the network serve law enforcement in 16 counties from Western New York and the North Country to the Southern Tier and Capital Region.
The training features leading experts in the field of crime analysis, including Dr. Jerry Ratcliffe, a professor of criminal justice and director of the Center for Security and Crime Science at Temple University in Philadelphia, and Nathan Dayler, a constable and tactical trainer who has helped the Toronto Police Service effectively use social media during major responses. Topics include the role crime analysts play in supporting decision-makers in their organizations; predictive policing and the tools analysts can use to forecast geographic areas for targeted enforcement; critical thinking skills; and testifying in court. In addition to annual training and ongoing technical assistance, the Division of Criminal Justice Services oversees crime analyst certification: 310 analysts have been certified since the program began in 2010.
Michael C. Green, Executive Deputy Commissioner of the Division of Criminal Justice Services, said, "This training is further evidence of our strong commitment to providing local law enforcement agencies with the resources, support and technology to help ensure a safer New York for all its residents. The work done by staff assigned to the eight state-supported Crime Analysis Centers has helped police agencies solve all types of crimes, from murders and sexual assaults to multi-jurisdiction burglary rings and armed robberies. Our investment in personnel, technology and training is making a significant difference across the state."
While the Centers primarily serves law enforcement in Albany, Broome, Clinton, Essex, Erie, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Monroe, Niagara, Oneida, Onondaga, Rensselaer, St. Lawrence, Saratoga and Schenectady counties, staff regularly assist agencies in other counties upon request. Centers in Albany, Buffalo, Malone, Niagara Falls, Rochester, Syracuse and Utica also offer assistance to police and prosecutors in real-time.
Analysts attending the training work for police departments, sheriffs’ offices, probation departments and district attorneys’ offices, with their positions funded by those local agencies, the Division of Criminal Justice Services, the National Guard’s Counter Drug Task Force or the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA). Also attending the training are crime analysts from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and a locally-supported Crime Analysis Center in Nassau County.
New York State annually invests about $6 million in the network, which also connects to locally supported centers in Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties. The New York State Police, state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, Department of Motor Vehicles, and federal Probation Department also share data with the centers.
State-supported centers have helped authorities crack a number of high profile cases. In June, the centers helped federal agents apprehend a man on the FBI’s Most Wanted list who was accused of at least 10 armed robberies that occurred at Dollar Tree and Dollar General stores across the nation. Crime analysts were able to link the suspect to heists that occurred in Rensselaer County and Dutchess County, which then helped the FBI identify and ultimately arrest him in June.
In another case, an analyst from the Monroe Crime Analysis Center helped police locate two college students who were kidnapped and tortured in December 2015. The analyst was able to use information from social media and other sources to lead investigators to the home where both students were being held. As a result, nine individuals were convicted and sentenced to prison in the case, which made national headlines.
The Crime Analysis Centers and their staff have been recognized by international and national organizations for their innovative use of technology and quality of their work, including the International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts, the Center for Digital Government and Digital Communities, Government Security News, and the International Association of Crime Analysts.
The New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services (www.criminaljustice.ny.gov is a multi-function criminal justice support agency with a variety of responsibilities, including law enforcement training; collection and analysis of statewide crime data; maintenance of criminal history information and fingerprint files; administration of the state’s DNA Databank in partnership with the New York State Police; funding and oversight of probation and community corrections programs; administration of federal and state criminal justice funds; and administration of the state’s Sex Offender Registry.
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