Webinars and Podcasts
This page features PSP-sponsored webinars and podcasts on topics of interest related to increasing public safety and reducing violence.
The following materials have been archived from the PSP pilot program, the Violence Reduction Network (VRN).
Children Exposed to Violence in Law Enforcement
Today’s law enforcement officers are increasingly tasked with dealing with children who are exposed to violence, crime, and abuse. If not the victim, children witness the victimization of others and the resulting trauma, which if left unaddressed, can have far-reaching effects and result in an uncertain future for its victims. The U.S. Department of Justice’s VRN is pleased to host Ms. Cynthia Pappas in this podcast on Children Exposed to Violence. Ms. Pappas is a senior policy advisor for the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), where she provides national leadership and coordination on issues surrounding child sexual abuse, child sex trafficking prevention and intervention, and youth and law enforcement engagement.
BJA Transition Update and Site Updates
The purpose of this webinar is for
BJA to share information regarding
VRN activities moving forward through the transition process and to highlight
the
VRN site resource delivery plans and sustainability efforts.
Insight Policing—Command Through Curiosity
The purpose of this webinar is to provide law enforcement officials with an overview of the Insight Policing training program available from George Mason University that teaches officers to apply insight policing skills to identify, understand, and defuse escalating conflict behavior and increase cooperation and trust among community members and for law enforcement to share lessons learned and experiences with implementing Insight Policing strategies.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) NIBIN and eTrace Overview
The Violence Reduction Network is pleased to present this podcast of the ATF National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) and the Electronic Tracing System (eTrace) networks. The focus of this podcast is to provide an overview of these resources and the services they provide to law enforcement.
Resources related to this podcast are considered law enforcement sensitive and are available to site representatives and team members only.
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log in to view the resources.
License Plate Reader Best Practices
The purpose of this webinar is to provide law enforcement officials with an overview of the value of license plate readers (LPRs), including how to establish a program, the development of policies for LPR use, LPR successes, and the development of implementation plans.
Podcast: Department of Justice Community Relations Service
The Violence Reduction Network is pleased to present this podcast on the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Community Relations Service (CRS). CRS is
DOJ's "Peacemaker" for community conflicts and tensions arising from differences of race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity,
sexual orientation, religion, and disability. During this discussion, the speakers will provide an overview of the CRS department and describe how CRS works with local communities to resolve conflict and tension.
CRS Website
Recruiting a Diverse Police Department Through Digital Outreach
A police department that reflects the ethnic, gender, and racial makeup of the communities it serves helps to build trust and improve relationships. Commitment to encouraging diversity in the police force has immense value, both internally and externally. This past winter, candidates were invited to apply to the Chicago Police Department for the first time in three years. Of the 14,000 applicants who responded to the announcement, 71 percent identified as a minority. Maintaining a police force that represents the community it serves is a top priority in Chicago and across the country. The webinar highlights the importance of diversity for building trust in the community and describes how Chicago developed a 12-week digital outreach campaign to bolster minority recruitment and lessons learned that will improve efforts in the future.
Exploring Active Shooter Response and Training
The goal of this webinar is to provide law enforcement officials with an overview of the research and analysis of active shooting incidents from the last several years and to share information regarding training strategies and best practices for law enforcement response to an active shooter. It will also provide information regarding current DOJ training and resources available through the FBI and the BJA VALOR Initiative and the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Program.
Casualty Care and Rescue Tactics
“Today’s law enforcement officers are facing increasing threats from not only non-traditional events such as terrorist attacks and active shooter events but a continuation of traditional threats and assaults that occur during traffic stops, domestic disturbances and the like.” ~Chief David Flory (Ret.)
Being prepared with the necessary skills and knowledge to provide immediate life-saving aid to oneself as well as to an injured individual has never been more critical for law enforcement. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Violence Reduction Network (VRN) is pleased to host Chief David Flory (Ret.) in this podcast discussion on casualty care and rescue tactics, otherwise known as self-aid/buddy-aid.
Casualty Care and Rescue Tactics flyer 
| David Flory Biography 
Prosecution Strategies for Violence Reduction
In today’s environment, the role of the prosecutor in overall violence reduction extends far beyond the courtroom. Across the country, some communities have adopted unique and multifaceted approaches to reducing violent crime by establishing trust and providing opportunities for success through community outreach, call-in sessions, and strong partnerships among the community, prosecutors, law enforcement, probation and parole, academia, and social services. Join this webinar to learn about two innovative, data-driven programs and the benefit of prosecutorial involvement in violence reduction strategies for the communities they serve.
Resources:
Braga, Anthony A. and David L. Weisburd. 2014. “Must We Settle for Less Rigorous Evaluations in Large Area Based Crime Prevention Programs? Lessons from a Campbell Review of Focused Deterrence.” Journal of Experimental Criminology, 10 (4): 573 – 597.
Access HereBraga, Anthony A. and David L. Weisburd. 2012. “The Effects of Focused Deterrence Strategies on Crime: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Empirical Evidence.” Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 49 (3): 323 – 358.
Access Here
Social Media Analysis
Social media plays a valuable role in allowing people, businesses, and organizations to keep in touch and interact with one another in ways as never before. Unfortunately, social media can also be used by individuals to espouse criminal intentions, coordinate criminal activities, and even publicize acts of violence. This webinar orients the audience with tools, methods, and techniques to search for subjects, issues, or people on any number of social media sites. Participants also generate a more complete understanding of the concept and function of these sites, how some sites support analysis while others support targeting, and how social media tools and resources can be used to prevent, mitigate, respond to, and investigate criminal activity. By forming a more complete understanding of social media-associated investigative tools and techniques, law enforcement may be better equipped to gather timely information in the furtherance of crime prevention and the investigation of criminal activity.
The New Era in Community Policing
In the post-Ferguson era, as communities continue to voice concerns regarding police shootings and unfair policing practices and in the wake of the recommendations of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, police agencies across the country are rethinking their tactics and their community relationships. Relatedly, as the concepts of procedural justice, constitutional policing, collaborative reform, collective efficacy, and community outreach and collaboration increase in importance in the world of policing, it is important to integrate or reintegrate these concepts and practices into police operations. For several reasons then, there is a need to build police agency interest and capacity in the areas of community policing and collaboration. This webinar reviewed key concepts and definitions, such as “procedural justice,” “collaboration versus engagement versus cooperation,” “intelligence-led policing,” and “smart policing,” and presented contemporary and promising police practices regarding outreach and collaboration in communities that are characterized by chronic high violence.
Strategies to Improve Homicide Investigations and Increase Clearance Rates
During this webinar, participants heard from Dr. David Carter and Mr. Brian Russell on successful and effective approaches in managing homicide investigations based on the collective experience of seven law enforcement agencies, the importance of a reciprocal relationship between law enforcement and prosecutors, and the critical tasks during the first 48 hours of a homicide investigation.
View the Presentation
View the Resources
Listen to the Recording
Virtual Forum
The U.S. Department of Justice hosted the VRN Virtual Forum as a collective Network update for all VRN sites and DOJ. This forum provided an opportunity for VRN site leaders and representatives to hear from each other regarding violence reduction efforts under way in each site and the DOJ resources that have been most helpful to them. Sites provided feedback on assistance that has been delivered through VRN, goals for the next six months, and ways VRN can better assist in the future. The VRN leadership team also provided a briefing on the future of the Network, including new sites, the fall summit, and more.
View the Webinar Recording
Community Engagement in High-Violence Neighborhoods
The recent events in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City, New York, and subsequent protests across the country have highlighted the
importance for police to partner with the community to establish sustainable relationships. Community engagement provides tremendous
opportunities for working together and pooling resources to strengthen police legitimacy and reduce violence in our communities.
During this webinar on community engagement, participants learned about innovative approaches to engaging communities in high-violence neighborhoods.
Mr. Ed Chung of the DOJ National Center for Building Community Trust provided opening remarks about
national perspectives and strategies, and then participants heard from three chiefs of police (Chief Scott Thomson from Camden, New Jersey;
Chief Chris Magnus from Richmond, California; and Chief Bobby Cummings from Wilmington, Delaware) regarding their experiences and
expertise in community engagement before opening up the discussion to the entire VRN network.
View the Webinar Recording
Top Offender Lists
With research indicating that a relatively small number of offenders are responsible for a large number of the crimes that are committed, identifying top offenders for the targeting of scarce resources can be a successful strategy to address and decrease crime in the community. The objectives of this session were to learn how to develop and maintain a top offender list, discuss strategies and related challenges and prospects to using a top offender list, learn about the lists developed by different agencies and initiatives, and discuss the utilization of top offender lists with your VRN colleagues.
View the Webinar Recording
Innovative Strategies to Address Youth Violence
This webinar on youth violence engaged participants in discussions about innovative approaches to working with high-risk and gang-involved youth, based on the city of San Jose’s Mayor’s Gang Prevention Task Force and the application of the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission process on Juvenile Case Review. In addition, local police department representatives shared their expertise.
View the Presentation
This project was supported by Grant No. 2016-DG-BX-K006 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.