Increasingly, state and local law enforcement agencies are being requested to include cyber-related crimes in their mission.  To assist agencies in understanding law enforcement’s role, the Critical Infrastructure Cyber Community (C3) Voluntary Program, the Regional Consortium Coordinating Council (RC3), and the State, Local Tribal, and Territorial Governments Coordinating Council (SLTTGCC) are hosting a webinar titled “Law Enforcement’s Role in Cyber Incident Response” on March 15, 2018, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., ET.  Webinar panelists representing the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center, and the Orange County, California, Intelligence Assessment Center will discuss challenges, solutions, and best practices related to cyber incident response.  Participants must have a Homeland Security Information Network (HSIN) account to access the webinar.

For additional information, contact the C3 Voluntary Program at ccubedvp@hq.dhs.gov.

Crime analysis can provide law enforcement agencies with critical tools and information to assist in crime-fighting efforts.  The Nationwide Crime Analysis Capability Building Project was initiated by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), to identify and evaluate promising practices to assist jurisdictions in enhancing their crime analysis capacity.

The Crime Analysis Toolkit provides findings and resources that can help advance criminal justice decision making and enhance the impact of crime analysis. The toolkit was designed to enable users to explore resources and refine their approaches.

To help develop this toolkit, BJA selected and engaged three law enforcement agencies that represent both diversity and progressive crime analytical capacity. These police departments have known proficiencies in crime analysis and have established real time crime centers. They are also actively engaged in regional crime analysis capabilities. The police departments selected are located in Charlotte–Mecklenburg, North Carolina; Cleveland, Ohio; and Tempe, Arizona. Each of these sites was paired with research partners.

Ohio’s progress in combating trafficking is both exciting and sobering. More victims have access to justice, and more offenders are being punished because of a strong state response, a committed network of victim service providers and survivor advocates, and trained law enforcement. But this means more victims continue to emerge from the shadows of exploitation, more intensive law enforcement investigations are necessary to lock up traffickers, and more trauma-informed care is necessary to help survivors rebuild their lives.

~Elizabeth Ranade Janis, Anti-Trafficking Coordinator, State of Ohio

In March 2012, Governor John R. Kasich’s Task Force was created by executive order to help combat human trafficking in the state of Ohio and educate residents about the problem.  In 2015 and 2016, state agencies continued to develop and implement a wide range of policy goals and initiatives aimed at preventing trafficking, protecting survivors, and prosecuting offenders in partnership with key stakeholders throughout the state.

The Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force Report highlights the significant efforts of agencies to build a sustainable, cost-effective infrastructure of response that will assist exploited individuals and their responders over the long term.  Notably, the report provides Task Force Priorities and Task Force Recommendations Scorecards, which are broken down by priority/recommendation, goal owner, and status.  The report also contains an extensive list of Task Force-Supported Resources, including models and guidance.

Since FY 2015, the Bureau of Justice Assistance and Office for Victims of Crime have funded 29 Enhanced Collaborative Model (ECM) Human Trafficking Task Forces for the purpose of combating human trafficking in communities across the U.S.

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) leadership, in collaboration with the Comprehensive Opioid Abuse Program (COAP) team, invites you to this no-cost webinar on February 27, 2018, at 2:00 p.m., ET, to learn how peer recovery support services are helping jurisdictions across the country address the opioid epidemic, bringing help and hope to individuals and families.

The objectives of the webinar are to:

• Define peer support, its principles, and the range of services.
• Share experiences and lessons learned from in-the-field peer programs.
• Present ideas for implementing peer programs at various points in the Sequential Intercept Model.
• Describe how grantees can request training and technical assistance (TTA).

As this dangerous extremist ideology grows in strength, we need to take steps to protect Americans from the threat.  This bill makes smart changes to ensure that our federal agencies are effectively coordinating on monitoring these terrorist organizations and able to prevent acts of violence.

~U.S. Representative Brad Schneider

On February 6, 2018, U.S. Representative Brad Schneider was joined by ranking members of the Committee on Homeland Security to introduce the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act, which is aimed at preventing acts of domestic terrorism by white supremacists and other extremist groups. This is a companion bill to legislation first introduced in the Senate by Senator Dick Durbin. 

A recent Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)-U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) joint intelligence bulletin found that white supremacist extremists were responsible for 49 homicides in 26 attacks from 2000 to 2016, more than any other domestic extremist movement.  The Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act would require DHS and the FBI to issue a yearly report on the threat posed by domestic terrorist groups and focus their efforts on the threats outlined in the joint report. 

The bill also codifies the Domestic Terrorism Executive Committee (DTEC) interagency task force, improves the training offered by the State and Local Anti-Terrorism Program, and streamlines coordination among the various agencies and offices, including state, local, and regional offices, working to combat domestic terrorism.

The State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training (SLATT) Program is funded by the United States Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Program is dedicated to providing critical training and resources to our nation's law enforcement, who face the challenges presented by the terrorist/violent criminal extremist threat.