Events

Part III of the three-part witness intimidation series focuses on the principles of witness protection, which include tactical considerations, addressing the traumatic impact to the victim/witness, and lifestyle change support.

In this closed discussion, grantee participants will discuss the various components of a process evaluation that also help directly inform the research partners’ relationship with practitioners, including monitoring/tracking tools for the practitioners to complete and a map of the prosecutorial and grant process. Contact AEquitas if you are interested in us hosting a similar event for your jurisdiction.  

AEquitas, in partnership with the Denver District Attorney’s Office hosts a two-part webinar that explores the scope of data available from sources of digital evidence and strategies on how such data can effectively be developed with forensically-sound practices. Presenters discuss theories of admission, rules of evidence, and “real life” examples to demonstrate how to properly authenticate and introduce digital evidence in court proceedings. The first of the two-part series explores the different types and sources of electronic data that are available to investigators; how such data can be properly collected, regardless of whether it is in a physical device or electronic records; and methods to facilitate searching and seizing data.  

This two-part webinar series presented by the Denver District Attorney’s Office, in partnership with AEquitas, explores the scope of data available from sources of digital evidence and strategies on how such data can effectively be developed with forensically-sound practices. Presenters discuss theories of admission, rules of evidence, and “real life” examples to demonstrate how to properly authenticate and introduce digital evidence in court proceedings. The second of the two-part series explores how legally-obtained data can be analyzed, depending on the type of data in question. Presenters also discuss strategies for effectively presenting evidence at trial.

This webinar spotlights Yolo County’s new criminal justice transparency portal, an innovative website created by the District Attorney’s Office, the Yolo County Multi-Cultural Council, and Measures for Justice (an organization that uses accurate criminal justice data to spur reform). The portal was developed to help the office analyze prosecution data and enhance trust with the community through transparency and accountability. It allows citizens an intimate glimpse into the prosecutorial process in Yolo County—including crime trends that are affecting their community; law enforcement resources in the area; and detailed case statistics pertaining to referrals, charging, diversion, and sentencing decisions. During this webinar, presenters will give a live walkthrough of the portal, chronicle the process behind publicizing this data, and discuss their aspirations and policy goals driving this project. View the discussion here.

PCE Pop-Ups feature current topics through short presentations and discussion sponsored by PCE and AEquitas Innovative Prosecution Solutions. This event will include discussions on: 

• Brady Today: How to Enhance Your Office Culture - Chief Assistant District Attorney Timothy Koller (Richmond County District Attorney's Office, New York)
• Creating an Ethics Process and the Role of the Ethics Officer - Professional Responsibility Advisor Cynthia Nakao (Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, California)

As violent crime increases nationwide, reports of increases in carjackings has become a concern in many communities. However, because jurisdictions often include carjackings under a general category of robbery, it is difficult to accurately identify the number of carjackings occurring separately from those robberies. This webinar will spotlight the experiences of an IPS grantee’s efforts to tackle this issue from a data collection and analysis perspective. Ryan Bokoch of the Cuyahoga County Office of the Prosecutor in Cleveland, OH will discuss his Crime Strategy Unit’s effort to collect and analyze data concerning carjackings in the Cleveland area so that the Office of the Prosecutor and their partners would have an accurate understanding of the numbers, location and perpetrator/victim demographics associated with this violent and potentially deadly crime. Upon completion of this session, participants will be better able to:

• Assess current data collection efforts regarding carjacking crime.
• Analyze data to create an accurate picture of carjacking crime within your jurisdiction.
• Utilize data to inform the response to carjacking crime.

Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs), also known as “Red Flag Laws", are a promising tool of intervention but are relatively unknown to prosecutors across the nation. ERPOs are court orders that temporarily restrict access to firearms for individuals at elevated risk of harming themselves or others. As caseloads swell and rates of violence surge, prosecutors, law enforcement, and advocates can learn about and begin to deploy tools that can help mitigate and prevent future harm upstream— when warning signs first come to light. Please join us for this engaging presentation led by national experts from the Regional Domestic Violence Firearms Enforcement Unit of the King County, Washington Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Presenters will discuss how criminal justice professionals can utilize ERPOs to restrict firearm access for individuals exhibiting a wide variety of high-risk behaviors. They will also explore the efficacy of ERPOs to reduce gun violence.

12:30pm - 4:00pm ET each day Violent criminals routinely escape justice by intimidating the witnesses to their crimes. Intimidation ranges from crude actions and behaviors, such as spontaneous verbal threats, to complex, orchestrated, multi-person efforts to prevent witnesses from participating in the criminal justice process. When intimidation is successful, criminal behavior escapes the purview of law enforcement, and offenders are emboldened to perpetrate further crimes unchecked by the justice system. Prosecutors, law enforcement, and advocates must do more to keep victims safe, hold offenders accountable, and build trust with the communities they serve. Join us for a National Convening on Witness Intimidation on October 5-6, 2023. This virtual, interactive event will bring together multidisciplinary professionals from around the United States to discuss best and promising practices for preventing and responding to intimidation. Specific topics will include: common and emerging methods used by criminals to intimate victims and witnesses, strategies to assess the credibility of and respond to threats, outreach and collaboration with essential criminal justice and community partners, and responding to intimidation that occurs within courthouses and courtrooms.

12:30pm - 4:00pm ET each day Violent criminals routinely escape justice by intimidating the witnesses to their crimes. Intimidation ranges from crude actions and behaviors, such as spontaneous verbal threats, to complex, orchestrated, multi-person efforts to prevent witnesses from participating in the criminal justice process. When intimidation is successful, criminal behavior escapes the purview of law enforcement, and offenders are emboldened to perpetrate further crimes unchecked by the justice system. Prosecutors, law enforcement, and advocates must do more to keep victims safe, hold offenders accountable, and build trust with the communities they serve. Join us for a National Convening on Witness Intimidation on October 5-6, 2023. This virtual, interactive event will bring together multidisciplinary professionals from around the United States to discuss best and promising practices for preventing and responding to intimidation. Specific topics will include: common and emerging methods used by criminals to intimate victims and witnesses, strategies to assess the credibility of and respond to threats, outreach and collaboration with essential criminal justice and community partners, and responding to intimidation that occurs within courthouses and courtrooms.

BJA will hold a webinar on the BJA FY24 Smart Prosecution – Innovative Prosecution Solutions solicitation on April 9, 2024, at 3 p.m. ET. This call will provide a detailed overview of the solicitation and allow interested applicants to ask questions.

Rachel Lovell, PhD, Assistant Professor of Criminology, Cleveland State University (CSU) Ryan Bokoch, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney and Crime Strategies Unit Supervisor, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office (CCPO) Cuyahoga County is home to Cleveland, Ohio and experiences a violent crime rate that is almost four times the national average. The County includes over 50 law enforcement agencies, and given that violent crime in the county is not confined to a single municipality, it's essential for law enforcement agencies and prosecutors to share data about violent offenders. This webinar will highlight how the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office (CCPO) identified and prioritized investigation and prosecution of the county’s most prolific offenders—especially those connected to firearm-related crimes. Rachel Lovell and Ryan Bokoch will discuss the creation and validation of the CCPO’s Crime Strategy Unit’s priority criteria, the characteristics of the county’s most violent offenders, and the social network and spatial analyses used to identify links between people, places, and violent gun crimes. Specifically, they will explain how to use incident-based criteria, as opposed to criteria based on individual characteristics, to identify violent crime drivers, and they will discuss how investigators and prosecutors can use such information to triage cases more effectively and efficiently. This project was supported by Grant No. 2020-YX-BX-K001 awarded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Bureau of Justice Assistance is a component of the Department of Justice's Office of Justice Programs, which also includes the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Institute of Justice, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Office for Victims of Crime, and the SMART Office. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice.