Hosted by the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), this podcast episode of The Beat discusses online scams targeting elders.  This is the unfortunate by-product of our increasing reliance on the internet for shopping and efficiently moving funds with the click of a few buttons. Internet-based platforms are also an efficient means for criminals to identify and prey upon victims. Felix Salazar is an investigator with the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, and his efforts to build cases against online scam artists are quickly becoming cheat sheets for law enforcement and prosecutors to successfully convict these elusive criminals.

Published by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Center on Extremism (COE), this report provides an in-depth look at the deadly threat of domestic extremists in our nation.  Some key findings from the report:

• In 2022, domestic extremists killed at least 25 people in the United States in 12 separate incidents.
• 21 of the 25 killings were linked to white supremacists, an unusually high number primarily due to mass shootings.
• The issue of extremist-related mass killings is of growing and special concern in the report because of the increase of such events over the past decade.

Hosted by the Justice Clearinghouse, this webinar will provide an overview of tactics and things to look for when abusive perpetrators use various arms of the legal system to maintain control over their victims.  An extreme form of ongoing psychological abuse, this can not only stop victims in their tracks but also clog up the judicial system and back up dockets.  Tips and tools for all the main players of the judicial system to help provide accountability, as well as prevent ongoing victim blaming and retraumatization, will be provided.  A brief case study will be utilized.

When: Tuesday, March 21, 2023
Time: 1:00 p.m. – 2:15 p.m., ET

This webinar is hosted by the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) on the National Census of Victim Service Providers (NCVSP): Data, Resources, and Implications for Practitioners.  The NCVSP is one component of the Victim Services Statistical Research Program that provides national data on all programs and organizations that serve victims of crime or abuse in the United States.  BJS first administered the NCVSP in 2017 and is currently working on the second administration of data collection, to begin in the summer of 2023.  This webinar will provide an overview of the NCVSP and a demonstration of recently released interactive maps analyzing 2017 data at the county level. Recent developments and updates for the 2023 NCVSP will also be discussed.  Participants will learn about the importance of these data to the victim services field, how they can be used to understand the current landscape of victim services across the country, and characteristics of victim service providers.

When: Wednesday, March 8, 2023
Time: 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m., ET

Funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance and hosted by the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Program (COSSAP) and RTI International, this webinar discusses the widespread use of mobile technology to help support people who use drugs (PWUD) throughout the recovery process.  Recently, there has been an increase in the number of smartphone apps that individuals can freely download to help them locate naloxone, find treatment providers, and even get help when actively experiencing an overdose.  This webinar will highlight three harm-reduction-focused smartphone applications for PWUD.  We describe how these apps were developed, how each one supports PWUD, and how COSSAP grantees can leverage them to support PWUD in their communities.

When: Tuesday, March 7, 2023
Time: 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m., ET